Africa Surveyors January-February issue 2023 digital

NEWS BRIEFS
Microsoft, JKUAT partner
in developing engineering
curriculum
Microsoft, JKUAT partner in developing
engineering curriculum|image:courtesy
The Africa Development Center which
is Microsoft’s engineering arm has
partnered with Jomo Kenyatta
University of Agriculture and Technology to
roll out a new curriculum for engineering
students. The partnership is aimed at
expanding access to digital skills training to
harness opportunities in the digital space.
Microsoft’s premier engineering arm, has
rolled out a new curriculum for engineering
students at the Jomo Kenyatta University
of Agriculture and Technology, in a bid to
improve the tech talent pipeline and reduce
the skills gap between classrooms and the
workplace.
Uganda approves construction of $3.5bn crude oil export
pipeline project
Uganda has approved a licence for
the construction of the proposed
$3.5bn pipeline that will be used to
export crude oil to international markets,
reported Reuters. The news agency cited
Uganda Information State Minister Godfrey
Kabbyanga as saying in an emailed statement
that the application to construct the pipeline
has been approved by the cabinet.
Being developed by East African Crude
Oil Pipeline Company (EACOP), a company
controlled by France’s TotalEnergies, the
1,44km-long pipeline is planned to have a
peak capacity of 246,000 barrels per day.
It will transport crude oil from Kabaale-
Hoima in Uganda to the Chongoleani
peninsula near the Tanga port in Tanzania.
The project also includes the construction of
a storage terminal and loading jetty in Tanga.
The pipeline will comprise six solar-powered
pumping stations in Tanzania, and a heat
tracing system.
TotalEnergies owns a 62% stake in EACOP
while state-run Uganda National Oil Company
and Tanzania Petroleum Development
Corporation hold 15% stakes each. China’s
CNOOC owns the remaining 8% interest. As
per the government geologists estimates,
the country holds gross reserves of six billion
barrels and 1.4 billion barrels of recoverable
oil.
Eni announces ‘Significant’ Offshore Gas discovery in Egypt
“The ADC is running multiple initiatives
to improve the tech talent pipeline
starting from primary school all the way to
working to improve the skills of practicing
professionals. As part of the skilling drive,
the ADC is looking to improve tech-based
curricular within local institutions of higher
learning so as to reduce the skills gap
between classrooms and the workplace,”
said Irene Githinji, the ADC Student and
Education Engagement Program Manager.
The initiatives range from coding classes
for children, teaching basic computer skills
to underprivileged individuals to highly
technical learning opportunities such as the
Game of Learners hackathon, which helps
university students fine-tune their skills
by building real-world solutions under the
supervision of industry professionals.
The partnership between the Africa
Development Center and Jomo Kenyatta
University of Agriculture and Technology, is
part of the digital Transformation Strategy
for Africa which aims at providing a massive
online e-skills development program to 300
million annually by the year 2025, to provide
basic knowledge and skills in digital security
and privacy.
www.africasurveyorsonline.com
Eni announces ‘significant’ discovery offshore Egypt |Image: courtesy
Eni announces a significant new gas
discovery at the Nargis-1 exploration
well located in Nargis Offshore Area
Concession, in the Eastern Mediterranean
Sea, offshore Egypt. The Nargis-1 well has
encountered approximately 200 net feet (61
m) of Miocene and Oligocene gas bearing
sandstones and was drilled in 1,014 feet
(309 m) of water by the Stena Forth drillship.
The discovery can be developed leveraging
the proximity to Eni’s existing facilities.
Nargis-1 confirms the validity of Eni’s focus
on Egypt Offshore, which the company will
further develop thanks to the recent award
of exploration blocks North Rafah, North
El Fayrouz, North East El Arish, Tiba and
Bellatrix-Seti East.
Egypt’s Nargis Offshore Area concession is
~445,000 acres (1,800 square kilometers).
Chevron Holdings C Pte. Ltd. is the operator
with a 45% interest, while Eni’s wholly
owned Affiliate IEOC Production BV holds a
45% and Tharwa Petroleum Company SAE
holds a 10% interest.
Eni has been present in Egypt since 1954,
where it operates through the subsidiary
IEOC. The company is currently the country’s
leading producer with an equity production
of hydrocarbons of approximately 350,000
barrels of oil equivalent per day. In line
with the net-zero strategy by 2050, Eni is
engaged in a series of initiatives aimed at
decarbonizing the Egyptian energy sector,
including the development of CCS plants,
renewable energy plants, agro feedstock for
bio refining and others.
January-February issue l 2023 5