NEWS BRIEFS

HCI to benefit from Namibia oil exploration

BUSINESS REPORT

Hosken Consolidated Investments (HCI) said yesterday that its associate investment Impact Oil and Gas had entered into a farmout agreement with TotalEnergies in two Namibian offshore oil and gas exploration blocks, which are being brought into production.

HCI is a 49% shareholder in UK-based oil and gas prospecting private company, Impact Oil and Gas. Impact is a 20% and 18.89% participant in Blocks 2913B and 2912, offshore Namibia, respectively.

“This is a pivotal transaction for Impact that paves the way for its transition from an exploration company to a hydrocarbon producing company, through its participation in the development of the world-class Venus discovery,” Impact CEO Siraj Ahmed said in a statement on its website.

HCI’s share price fell by 6.1% to N$188.97 on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange yesterday morning, but the price remained well up from R53.50 on the same day three years ago.

De Beers to make US$1 billion investment in Botswana

REUTERS

Global diamond giant De Beers said yesterday it would go ahead with a planned US$1 billion (N$19bn) investment to extend the life of its flagship Jwaneng mine in Botswana, even as last year’s downturn in gem demand persists.

The Anglo American unit and the Botswana government, which jointly own Debswana Diamond Company, have approved the spending that will convert the Jwaneng pit into an underground operation.

Debswana said that in 2018, it planned an investment to extend the lifespan of the mine by 11 years from 2024.

De Beers said the spending was necessary as long-term supply of rough gems was expected to tighten.

Oil tankers divert from Red Sea after Yemen attacks

REUTERS

At least four oil tankers have diverted course from the Red Sea since overnight strikes by the U.S. and Britain on Houthi targets in Yemen, shipping data from LSEG and Kpler showed.

The attacks were carried out from the air and sea in response to the Iranian-backed Houthi militia's attacks on ships in the Red Sea, in what is becoming a regional escalation of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

One of the tankers, Toya, a very large crude carrier capable of carrying up to 2 million barrels of oil, was unladen, the data showed. The other three vessels are fuel tankers.