With the recent opening of a branch in Sierra Leone, First Bank of Nigeria Limited has further cemented its position as sub-Saharan Africa's largest corporate and retail banking company. The branch is the result of First Bank of Nigeria's acquisition of ICB. The bank is now doing business as FBNBank Sierra Leone; staff is ready to serve clients in the public and private sectors. Read More »

Owners of small- and- medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) throughout Ghana are bracing for the struggles they may face after the nation's government announced a 27 percent tax that would be levied on all petroleum products. The announcement came as worldwide prices of crude oil plummeted. Some business owners aren't sure how - or if - their businesses will survive. Read More »

Production from the Mpungi field in the West Hub Development Project in Angola's Block 15/06, overseen by Italian multi-national oil and gas company Eni, has begun. During the first quarter of this year, the project is expected to produce about 100,000 barrels of oil each day. Eni has been exploring sites in Angola since 1980 and will continue to explore other areas of Block 15/06. Read More »

Telecom company MainOne announced Monday that an underwater communications cable connecting Lagos, Nigeria, and Kribi, Cameroon, was finished and put online last month. The new 684-mile cable will carry up to 12.8 terabytes per second of broadband connectivity to help provide the broadband access needed for Cameroon to accomplish its National Broadband Network initiative. Read More »

Hyperdynamics Corp. and its subsidiary, SCS Corp., leveled lawsuits against Tullow Guinea Ltd. and Dana Petroleum Monday, alleging Tullow and Dana did not follow through on the terms of a JOA. Hyperdynamics also claims that officials of the companies have refused to sign a production sharing contract with Guinea connected to a well-drilling project in offshore Guinea. Read More »

West African Resources Limited reported significant findings Friday on its Burkina Faso prospecting. Recent drilling extended shallow oxide gold mineralization at the M3 eastern zone. Follow-up drilling confirmed continuity of gold mineralization in the area. It is expected that oxide mineralization from M1 and M3 will continue to display similar metallurgical characteristics. Read More »

An international team from EM&I Group is preparing to begin baseline work on a FPSO project in offshore Ghana. "This is a significant project for one of our most important clients who chose EM&I because of our technical and high-quality offering and our ability to gather an international team of in-house professionals at short notice," EM&I Regional General Manager Peter Davies said. Read More »

The U.S. government donated 24 MRAP vehicles to Nigeria's military Thursday. The vehicles are worth $11 million and will be applied toward the anti-Boko Haram effort. The vehicles were delivered to Lagos and came out of the United State's Excess Defense Articles Program, which transfers unused U.S. military equipment to foreign governments. Another eight MRAPS will be delivered. Read More »

Aureus Mining Inc. recently became the owners of three mining exploration properties in Liberia, after purchasing them from Canadian entity Sarama Resources Ltd. As a condition of the sale, Sarama purchased an uncapped 1 percent net smelter return royalty on gold produced from the Cape Mount property in Liberia. Sarama's interests are focused in West Africa, mostly in Burkina Faso. Read More »

Ignitia recently joined a U.N.-sponsored program to alert West African farmers to local weather trends with SMS texts. BCtA strives to reduce poverty and improve lives through inclusive business models. Its current goal for the region is to deliver reliable and tropical weather forecasts via text messages to 1.2 million small-scale farmers in West Africa by the end of 2017. Read More »

As the African year of human rights and particularly women’s rights, 2016 will start with the 8th African Union Gender Pre-Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Jan. 17 to Jan. 21. Under the general leadership of Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, AUC president and chairperson, the event is coordinated by the AU Commission Directorate of Women, Gender and Development; the GIMAC; and AU partners. Read More »

An offshore Guinea oil and gas exploration project led by Hyperdynamics Corp. is at a standstill after project participants Tullow Guinea Ltd. and Dana Petroleum recently refused to meet obligations or sign pertinent documents necessary to move the project forward. The project carries a September 2015 deadline. Up to this point, all work programs and budgets had been approved. Read More »

ECOSLOPS, a company that makes marine fuels and diluted bitumen from recycled maritime slops and sludges, is taking its first steps toward developing a recycling plant at Ivory Coast's Port of Abidjan. An agreement in principle is in place providing for 5 hectares of land in the port area. Technical studies will now commence, and ECOSLOPS officials will begin seeking local partners. Read More »

IMF Managing Director Christine LaGarde tackled a number of issues as she spoke before the Nigerian National Assembly. Lagarde highlighted the nation's peaceful election, saying it was a strong sign of Nigeria’s commitment to democracy." Lagarde addressed the nation's reaction to falling oil prices, the tightening of the global economy, geopolitical tensions and faltering economies. Read More »

MainOne is optimistic about the future of business in Nigeria. As the West African nation goes into a new year with a new leader and administration, the company is committed to facilitating the nation's future. MainOne is committed to investment opportunities to launch and maintain ISP services throughout Nigeria. Read More »

African Petroleum Corp. Ltd was removed from the NSX for Australia Monday prior to NSX's opening. The company continues to be listed on the Oslo Axess stock exchange. African Petroleum operates as an oil and natural gas exploration company that has operating licenses in West Africa and offshore. It reports approximately 28,448 square kilometers across its 10 licensed operations. Read More »

Minerva Bunkers will supplement its marine fuel trading business in West Africa by opening a full-service fuel supply operation in the region. By March, the company will have two tankers plying the region's waters. The Sea Lion I, one of the company's current vessels, can pump up to 1,000 metric tons of crude per hour. Its sister vessel will have similar capacity. Read More »

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde issued a statement following her visit to Nigeria Thursday. Lagarde noted that Nigeria makes up the largest economic block in Africa and that it has a diverse economy that is no longer reliant on oil and agriculture. Lagarde met with Nigerian Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun, Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele and President Muhammadu Buhari. Read More »

The acquisition of Goldrush Resources Ltd. was completed by First Mining Finance Corp. The arrangement dictates that any issued shares into Goldrush Resources will be transferred to First Mining. First Mining also has acquired the outstanding shares associated with Goldrush Resources. Current shareholders will receive .0714 of one First Mining share for every share. Read More »

The WMO detailed the progress of its four-year project to help farmers in West Africa utilize meteorological tools. The MetAgri Operational project consisted of seminars that had participation from approximately 10,600 farmers; and 17 countries were represented in the form of participating National Meteorological and Hydrological Services, agricultural extension workers and farmers. Read More »