International energy company Azule Energy has officially farmed-in to Namibia’s offshore Block 2914A with the signing of an agreement with exploration company Rhino Resources Namibia. The transaction marks Azule’s entry into the country as well as its first international deal. Representing the voice of the African energy sector, the African Energy Chamber (AEC) (http://www.EnergyChamber.org) stands in support of Azule Energy’s venture into the Orange Basin, recognizing the value of the transaction in unlocking the full potential of the country’s oil and gas resources. The deal is a testament to the prospectivity of the basin as well as the high level of international interest in Namibia’s offshore oil and gas opportunities.

Under the terms of the agreement, Azule Energy has secured a 42.5% interest in Block 2914A – located in PEL 85. Following the completion of the acquisition, Azule Energy plans to drill two high-impact exploration wells as part of a work program in the area, with the initiation of the first well anticipated as early as Q4, 2024. These wells are anticipated to play a crucial role in unlocking the hydrocarbon potential of the Orange Basin, thereby supporting Namibia’s energy security and economic growth.

Additionally, the agreement provides Azule Energy with an option to become the operator of PEL 85, showcasing the company’s commitment to responsible resource management and operational excellence. The current contractor group consists of Rhino Resources Namibia as the operator with an 85% interest, Namibia’s national oil company NAMCOR with a 10% interest and indigenous company Korres Investments with a 5% interest. This consortium represents a diverse range of expertise and resources, ensuring a well-rounded approach to exploration and development activities in the Orange Basin.

“It is an exciting moment for exploration in Namibia. This farm in further confirms Namibia as one of the world’s most prospective, underexplored hotspots, with billions of barrels of oil yet to be found. We still believe that there will be many more similar farm-in deals by companies holding exploration assets in this emerging country,” stated NJ Ayuk, the Executive Chairman of the AEC. “The Chamber commends Azule Energy and Rhino Resources Namibia for their vision and commitment and look forward to supporting their efforts as they work to unlock the full potential of Namibia’s offshore resources”

The Orange Basin continues to reveal substantial deposits of untapped oil and gas. The discovery of light oil in the Enigma-1X well – located in PEL 39 – by energy major Shell marked the latest addition to Namibia’s string of sizeable oil discoveries. The discovery followed the Venus-1X, Graff 1-X, Jonker-1X, La Rona-1X, Lesedi-1X, Mopane-1X, and Mopane-2X finds, showcasing the immense potential lying within the basin. With each find, Namibia inches closer to harnessing these opportunities for commercialization. As the government progresses towards a strategic plan to capitalize on these prospects, it aims to streamline regulatory frameworks, attract further investment and foster sustainable delopment in the energy sector.

In this context, Azule Energy’s Farm-In Agreement assumes greater significance, as it underscores the company’s commitment to exploring and developing the region’s hydrocarbon resources. By participating in the exploration activities in Namibia’s Orange Basin, Azule Energy not only demonstrates its confidence in the prospectivity of the area but also contributes to the broader goal of enhancing Namibia’s energy landscape.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

The second meeting of the Supervisory Board of the Regional Fund for Agriculture and Food (RFAF), held on 25 April 2024, enabled Members of the Board to validate and adopt the operationalisation and management instruments of the Fund and the selection of financial intermediaries within the framework of the operationalisation of the West African Initiative for Climate-Smart Agriculture (WAICSA). The RFAF is managed by EBID in accordance with the Management Agreement signed on 14 February 2019 between the ECOWAS Commission and the ECOWAS bank (EBID).

This meeting marks a decisive turning point in the operationalisation of the RFAF. At a time when economic and financial vulnerability is being exported regionally and globally, the Supervisory Board has given the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) the go-ahead to launch the Fund’s first activities as soon as possible. Effective start-up of the Fund’s activities will boost the confidence of partners who have been waiting, since 2011, for ECOWAS to operationalise the Fund before contributing.

Members of the Board examined and adopted the Fund’s operationalisation documents, including funding policies, project selection criteria, marketing/communication, and resource mobilisation documents, as well as the monitoring and evaluation mechanisms submitted to them for approval. They also reviewed the Fund’s 2022 and 2023 annual activity reports and thethree-year work plan and budget for 2023-2025 before adopting them.

Special attention was given to the selection of the financial intermediaries who will be responsible for allocating funds to selected projects. Intermediaries play a crucial role in the process, ensuring proper management of the funds and providing technical support to final beneficiaries. Financial intermediaries were selected based on their experience, operational capacity, and commitment to the sustainable development of agriculture and food security in West Africa.

The second meeting of the Supervisory Board paves the way for effective implementation of innovative and sustainable projects that will help to strengthen the resilience of agricultural systems in the face of climate challenges, while improving food security and the livelihoods of the people of West Africa. The adoption of the operational documents will make it possible to implement the resources mobilisation strategy through the organisation of the roundtable of donors and/or investors.

To recall, the mission of the RFAF is to ensure the financing of the Regional Agricultural Policy (ECOWAP) Investment Programme. Created in 2011 at the same time as the Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food (RAAF), the ECOWAS Regional Fund for Agriculture and Food is one of the main pillars of the overall institutional and financial arrangements for ECOWAP. It is intended to be fed by Community’s own resources, supplemented by contributions from donors who plan to channel their resources towards regional agricultural programmes corresponding to ECOWAP priorities. The RFAF constitutes the region’s sovereign instrument, which will make it possible to meet the needs of vulnerable populations and to undertake development programmes based on the priorities and real needs of Member States.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Thousands of people, including refugees, continue to be caught up in the ongoing El Niño-triggered heavy rains and severe flooding sweeping across East Africa.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is particularly concerned about thousands of refugees and other displaced people being forced to escape once again for their lives after their homes were washed away.

In Kenya, nearly 20,000 people in the Dadaab refugee camps – which host over 380,000 refugees – have been displaced due to the rising water levels. Many of them are among those who arrived in the past couple of years after fleeing severe drought in neighboring Somalia. Some 4,000 people are currently sheltering in six schools with facilities that have been extensively damaged. The others are staying with friends or relatives in other parts of the camp. Several latrines have collapsed, putting refugees at risk of deadly water-borne diseases.

In Burundi, around 32,000 refugees – nearly half of the refugee population in the country – are living in areas affected by the floods, with 500 of them requiring urgent assistance. In the capital, Bujumbura, refugee families along with many Burundians, including elderly people, have had to relocate multiple times as water levels continue to rise. Access to food and other necessities is increasingly difficult as prices have risen due to high fees to use canoes to move goods.  Education has ground to a halt as classrooms are flooded and learning materials destroyed. Beyond Bujumbura, rent prices have reportedly doubled, making it too expensive for many refugee families to relocate, leaving them with little choice than to remain in their water-logged homes. Nyanza Lac commune in Makamba province, an area that has received 25,000 Burundian refugees returning home from exile in the past few years, is also badly affected.

Other countries in the region where the displaced are among the hardest hit include Somalia, where over 46,000 internally displaced people in five locations in the south of the country have been forced to relocate due to flash floods, and Tanzania, where over 200,000 refugees mainly from the DRC and Burundi hosted in the Nyarugusu and Nduta camps have been impacted. Shelters within the two camps have been damaged, affecting some 200 families. UNHCR’s office in Kigoma was also recently flooded.

UNHCR is working closely with local authorities and partners, rushing crucial aid and providing protection services to refugees and affected communities living nearby.

In Kenya, we are providing refugees with relief items like tarpaulins, mosquito nets, dignity kits, soap and jerricans, with special attention to older people and those living with disabilities. We are helping families relocate to safer locations until the waters recede. In Burundi, as part of the interagency response led by the Government, UNHCR will provide shelter kits and cash assistance to help refugees. Thousands of former Burundian refugees who have returned to their country are among those prioritized for support. In Tanzania, we are working with local partners to rehabilitate refugee shelters. In Somalia, critical protection assistance and essential items are being delivered to internally displaced families.

Climate change is making many parts of the world – especially in fragile regions like East Africa and the Horn of Africa – increasingly uninhabitable. Storms are more devastating. Wildfires have become commonplace. Floods and droughts are intensifying. Some of these impacts are irreversible and threaten to continue worsening, and displaced people are bearing the brunt of the impact.

These floods show the gaps in preparedness and early action. Funding available to address the impacts of climate change is not reaching those forcibly displaced, nor the communities hosting them. Without help to prepare for, withstand and recover from climate-related shocks, they face an increased risk of further displacement. 

In April 2024, UNHCR launched its first-ever Climate Resilience Fund to reinforce the need to build the resilience of refugees, displaced communities, and their hosts to the increasing intensity of climate-change-related extreme weather events.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) (http://ICIEC.IsDB.org), a leading Shariah-based multilateral insurer and esteemed member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, is proud to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Infrastructure Fund of Saudi Arabia (INFRA). This pivotal MoU was signed during the IsDB Group Annual Meeting 2024, which took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, by ICIEC’s CEO, Mr. Oussama Kaissi, and Eng. Esmail Alsallom, CEO of INFRA and witnessed by H.E. Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ICIEC.

This MoU establishes a framework for cooperation between ICIEC and INFRA. Key initiatives include exploration of opportunities of mutual interest within the Kingdom in line with its developmental objectives, institutional cooperation and knowledge exchange through  continuation of dialogue and participation in relevant events. Additionally, the parties will coordinate participation in field-related activities and foster affiliations with relevant entities or professional associations to strengthen collaborative ties. Through this collaboration, ICIEC will support INFRA’s efforts to accelerate strategic infrastructure projects in the Kingdom, contributing to the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.

Mr. Oussama Kaissi, the CEO of ICIEC, expressed his pleasure about the agreement, stating, “We are delighted to enter into this collaboration with INFRA. Our joint efforts will focus on strengthening the economic frameworks within our member states. This MoU sets the tone of our shared commitment to promoting sustainable development through enhanced understanding and cooperation in insurance solutions and infrastructure development in the Kingdom.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC).

Media Contact:
Rania Binhimd
Communication Department
Email: Rbinhimd@isdb.org

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About The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC):
ICIEC commenced operations in 1994 to strengthen economic relations between OIC Member States and promote intra-OIC trade and investments by providing risk mitigation tools and financial solutions. The Corporation is uniquely the only Islamic multilateral insurer in the world. It has led from the front in delivering a comprehensive suite of solutions to companies and parties in its 49 Member States. ICIEC, for the 16th consecutive year, maintained an “Aa3” insurance financial strength credit rating from Moody’s, ranking the Corporation among the top of the Credit and Political Risk Insurance (CPRI) Industry. Additionally, ICIEC has been assigned a First-Time AA- long-term Issuer Credit Rating by S&P with Stable Outlook.  ICIEC’s resilience is underpinned by its sound underwriting, reinsurance, and risk management policies. Cumulatively, ICIEC has insured more than US$ 108bn in trade and investment. ICIEC activities are directed to specific sectors – energy, manufacturing, infrastructure, healthcare, and agriculture.

For more information, visit: http://ICIEC.IsDB.org