The government of South Sudan is pushing for the restart of production from outlying fields in the critical oil territory in Upper Nile, and is evaluating the resumption of output from shut-down fields in Unity State, according to a senior official at the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining. Production levels in Upper Nile State are threatened by technical issues with crude dewatering facilities, while the restart of production in Unity State is being hampered by issues over border demarcation with Sudan.
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Opponents question the ailing president’s fitness to govern, but critics say the country lacks a credible alternative.
Al Jazeera – 8 August 2014
Last month, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika surpassed the 100-day mark of his term after winning an unprecedented fourth mandate on April 17.
In other parts of the world, the 100-day point presents a convenient time to assess how a leader has fared in the first phase of a new mandate. In Algeria, however, debate remains mired on whether Bouteflika, 77, is fit to rule at all. (more…)
ExxonMobil plans to withdraw from a consortium lined up to explore three oil blocks in South Sudan, according to sources in Juba. The blocks together make up Block B, a 118,000km2 area of Jonglei state divided into three in 2012. (more…)
New wells could be critical to boosting the country’s standing as an international gas exporter, but challenges persist.
Al Jazeera – 28 July 2014
Algeria has announced plans to drill four shale gas wells by the end of 2014 as it begins assessing the commercial viability of a resource base estimated to be the third-largest in the world.
There are considerable doubts as to whether Algeria can successfully develop a shale gas sector, but it could be critical to maintaining the country’s standing as an international gas exporter. (more…)
Following the great success but ultimately frustrating outcome of the Kickstarter campaign for my documentary film last year about the devastating impact that the influx of Syrian refugees is having on impoverished people in Jordan, I’ve set up a fundraising page to help raise the finance necessary to complete and distribute this important film.
Turkey’s prime minister Racep Tayyip Erdogan will win next month’s presidential elections and become the country’s first directly elected president, according to a panel of experts assembled at the Frontline Club on 22 July 2014. (more…)
By the evidence of South Sudan’s budget, presented to parliament in late June, the country’s finance ministry has lost its mind.
This time last year, the Government of South Sudan put forward what it described as a “two-step budget” that would boost social services and economic growth “in a responsible manner.”
That budget, covering July 2013 to June 2014, consisted of six months of austerity while oil production recovered from a 15-month shut-down. Spending limits were set at SSP555m ($184m) a month for the first half of the year, rising to SSP1bn by early 2014 “if sufficient resources are available.”
It seems that this common-sense approach hasn’t lasted long. (more…)
