More haste, less speed in Malawi?
Malawi hopes to emulate its eastern African neighbours by making big hydrocarbons discoveries but progress is slow
Agricultural revenues are falling and opportunities to diversify the economy are few, so Malawi is seeking to entice explorers to establish the potential of the country's hydrocarbons reserves. It hasn't gone as well as hoped. Serious investment has not blossomed and the government's licensing strategy has attracted criticism. Efforts to woo companies to the sector started at least a decade ago and gathered momentum with the amendment of oil-sector regulations and the designation of six exploration blocks in 2009. Prospecting licences, or stakes in them, were awarded over subsequent years to several low-profile companies, including South Africa's SacOil, UK-registered Surestream and three co

Also in this section
13 March 2025
The spectre of Saudi Arabia’s 2020 market share strategy haunts a suffering OPEC+ as Trump upends the energy world
12 March 2025
Petronas-Eni eyes joint venture to prioritise key gas developments, with huge opportunities for growth in Indonesia and a steady Malaysia portfolio
12 March 2025
Bearish market sentiment and bullish long-term outlook for oil and gas consumption prevails at CERAWeek
11 March 2025
Direct air capture is still in its infancy, but organisations are seeking to leverage global collaborations and AI to discover new materials, with an aim of scaling up the technology and cutting costs