Latest Analysis

The grueling conflict in Gaza, deadly exchanges of fire along the Israel-Lebanon border and yesterday’s assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh are raising fears of an all-out regional war pitting Israel and its Western allies against Iran and its Axis of Resistance. What would such a war mean for North Africa and its energy sector?

Presidents Milei and Lula are not on speaking terms, but can energy integration in the Mercosur bloc move ahead nonetheless, driven by private sector initiative?

On 7 July, France’s runoff elections blocked the National Rally’s (RN) far-right takeover of the government but left a hung parliament. In our view, the outcome will influence the dynamic with West Africa in three main ways. 

Electioneering is in full swing in Nigeria, despite the next poll not taking place until 2027.

Two high-profile figures, six-time presidential hopeful and opposition People’s Democratic Party leader Atiku Abubakar, and former Kaduna State Gov. Nasir El-Rufai, visited former President Muhammadu Buhari in late June. Abubakar’s visit was part of a tour of northern Nigerian heads of state and traditional leaders.

Last week, charismatic politician Venancio Mondlane announced he would run in the presidential and legislative elections with the Democratic Alliance Coalition (CAD). This comes less than one month after he left Renamo, Mozambique’s largest opposition party, after extensive disputes with its leadership. 

As time runs out to keep global climate goals within reach, governments are scrambling for anything that can help them achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

In recent weeks, the already tough competition among North African countries to become regional leaders in green hydrogen production has grown even tougher. That competition began in earnest in 2022, when the European Union launched the REPowerEU plan: The plan targets 20MT of low-carbon hydrogen production — half at home and half imported from abroad.

Last week, Horizon Engage was the Intelligence Partner for the Africa Energies Summit in London. Clementine Wallop, Director, Sub-Saharan Africa, shares her takeaways from the event.

The death of Raisi is being dissected in capitals across the world. But alongside diplomats and intelligence analysts, investors have questions too.

From well-established jurisdictions like Nigeria, Libya and Angola to newer names like Namibia and Senegal, Horizon Engage works with clients to give essential stakeholder intelligence in the African energy sector. Our analysts know who matters and why, and how those people and their decisions can affect the investment climate.

Argentina, Bolivia and Chile have two things in common. One is geographical: they share sections of the Andes range of mountains. The other is geological and becomes economic: together, they have more than half of the world’s lithium reserves. Lithium, at least until technological prowess finds a better way, is crucial for the energy transition.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has an opportunity to use the recent cash influx to build Egypt’s economy to last, but will he fritter it away on pet projects?

In Latin America, there seems to be no ideological pattern but rather soloists who are too preoccupied with internal issues to care about diplomatic subtleties.

How will the travel bans impact energy investment? Horizon Engage analysts examine the travel bans in Nigeria, Thailand and Suriname and what they mean.

This post could have been called “Reasons to be Less Miserable”: There is no getting around how hard times are in Nigeria or the complexities energy companies face doing business there.

The Milei administration recently announced that in January it achieved a monthly budget surplus, Argentina’s first in almost 12 years. This is good news for the government after a major setback in Congress earlier this month. The bad news is a severe recession already showing in the official data.

The Milei administration recently announced that in January it achieved a monthly budget surplus, Argentina’s first in almost 12 years. This is good news for the government after a major setback in Congress earlier this month. The bad news is a severe recession already showing in the official data.

President Tebboune and Algeria are eager for foreign investment: To remain an energy leader, Algeria must branch out beyond traditional oil and gas.

Argentina will soon start looking for a “second Vaca Muerta” in the South Atlantic Ocean, with drilling scheduled to begin off the coast of Buenos Aires.

Deputy PM and Minister of International Relations & Cooperation Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah (known popularly as NNN) is the favorite to become Namibia’s next president following elections due in November 2024. Her rise to the presidency will mark a break from current President Hage Geigob.

The Ubadari offshore gas field in eastern West Papua province will be the first in Indonesia to include carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology.

On 16 January, the ETYFA Prometheus Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) finally set sail for Cyprus from a Cosco shipyard in China. It should arrive at Vasilikos port in mid-March, unless it’s delayed by congestion in the Red Sea and Suez Canal linked to the war in Gaza.

Just days after Venezuela’s referendum on the contested Essequibo, the Brazilian army deployed 28 armored personnel carriers to Roraima, the state adjacent to Venezuela and Guyana.

The Ubadari offshore gas field in eastern West Papua province will be the first in Indonesia to include carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology.

On 12 November, Samuel Garcia, the Nuevo Leon governor, formally announced his bid for the presidency under the banner of the center-left Citizens’ Movement. The party has become a platform for the young scions of political royalty like Monterrey Mayor Luis Donaldo Colosio — the son of a PRI presidential candidate assassinated in 1994 — or Juan Ignacio Zavala, the nephew of former President Felipe Calderon.

The streets of Buenos Aires woke up to a calm Monday morning on 20 November after Argentina overwhelmingly voted to elect Javier Milei as president. Milei’s supporters celebrated at the famed Obelisk in the city center until early in the morning, but what comes next?

In Indonesia, President Joko Widodo inaugurated the country’s largest solar power plant in Cirata, West Java. At the event, Jokowi said that the FSPP will help Indonesia meet its goal of increasing the share of renewables in the national energy mix from the current 13% to 23% in 2025.

On 11 November, voters in Imo, southeastern Nigeria, will go to the polls with security in focus after a turbulent few years in the oil-producing state.

Energy investors will be watching for signs they can expect a safer operating environment in the next term.

Opposition presidential candidate Sen. Xochitl Galvez wants a radical transformation of Mexico’s energy sector. How would Galvez power Mexico?

Off-cycle gubernatorial elections for Bayelsa State in Nigeria will be held on 11 November. At stake is control of one of the country’s biggest oil-producing regions.

When she was mayor of Mexico City, Sheinbaum championed bus electrification and installed solar panels at the Central de Abastos, the largest food market in Latin America. Her dual roles as a scientist and government official seemingly indicate green credentials. However, the reality is that Sheinbam has chosen politics over science.

Kazakhstan President Tokayev’s meetings with foreign leaders demonstrate the difficulty of balancing rival interests and ambitions of the country’s neighbors.

One of the first public figures to propose Mexican Sen. Xochitl Galvez as opposition presidential candidate was Jorge Castaneda.

Last September, Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his administration showcased a number of climate-friendly policies and initiatives to international audiences. Lula has continued to introduce and amend efforts to make Brazil’s economy greener, allocating billions of dollars to expanding biofuels output and building biorefineries to produce sustainable fuel.

If you want a meeting with Mexican presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum, you need to reach out to Luisa Abreu. A journalist by training, she has worked with Sheinbaum since 2015, when Abreu became the chief of staff of the then-mayor of Tlalpan.

US Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Mark Milley assessed that Ukrainian forces probably have around 30 to 45 days of good “fighting weather” before mud triggered by the fall rain slows down combat operations. What does this mean?

After his victory in the 13 August primaries, libertarian economist Javier Milei is now the obvious frontrunner in Argentina’s presidential race. As his chances of winning the presidency grow, Milei has begun assembling more detailed plans for his potential time in office — including significant goals for the energy sector that may have a hard time getting through Congress. 

Military coups have toppled governments in Niger and Gabon, two resource-rich countries in sub-Saharan Africa, in less than a month. The two putsches come on the heels of a wave of military takeovers in West and Central Africa that might spread to other nations in the two regions as well as other parts of the continent.

Recently, Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) announced plans to construct a green hydrogen (H2) plant in Oaxaca state, marking a favorable step in the country’s renewable energy landscape.

In Nigeria, the Bola Tinubu presidency is off to a rocky start, with declining oil output, the naira falling to record lows, and inflation climbing.

Egypt faces shortfalls in gas flows undermining export revenues and leading to power outages that government officials say may run through mid-September.

In late July, Nani Ould Chrougha, Mauritania’s new minister of oil, energy and mines, confirmed that artisanal miners would have to depart from concessions held by Tasiast and SENISA.

The Argentina-IMF deal is a lifeline for Finance Minister Sergio Massa because it puts off devaluating the peso until after the October presidential election.

Senator Xóchitl Gálvez is gaining significant attention as an unconventional contender for Mexico’s upcoming 2024 presidential election.

Is the NewMed Energy-led consortium’s bid part of a broader bilateral effort to deepen security cooperation between Israel and Azerbaijan?

On July 12, ReconAfrica announced the approval of plans to drill 12 additional exploration and appraisal wells in Namibia.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently held discussions with Chinese officials in Beijing aiming to reduce tensions and prevent unintentional escalation.