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CSIRO snapshot: seven megatrends shaping our future

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CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, recently released a once-in-a-decade report, Our Future World, highlighting seven global megatrends that could hold the key to the challenges and opportunities ahead. 

With an outlook to 2042, Our Future World revisits CSIRO’s ground-breaking 2012 report, exploring the geopolitical, economic, social, technological and environmental forces unfolding around the world, predicting their likely impact on Australia’s people, businesses and governments.   

The seven global megatrends are: adapting to climate change; leaner, cleaner and greener; the escalating health imperative; geopolitical shifts; diving into digital; increasingly autonomous; and unlocking the human dimension. 

CSIRO chief executive Larry Marshall said megatrends help us to understand the challenges and massive opportunities that will shape our future.

“From resource scarcity to drug resistant superbugs, disrupted global trade, and an increasingly unstable climate threatening our health and way of life – these are just some of the challenges we face. But these challenges also tell us where the most powerful innovation can be found, when we see a different future and leverage science to create it,” Marshall said.

“We analyzed thousands of data points collected over decades. Some of the trends we identified have been widely discussed, while others are newer and directly related to our experiences during the pandemic,” said Stefan Hajkowicz, co-lead author of the report.

“We are, for example, just beginning to understand the potential long-term impacts of the pandemic on mental health and chronic illness. We anticipate that while the pandemic sped up digital transformation, the real explosion in our capability is yet to come. In this environment, digital skills will become more valuable, but rather than replacing human intelligence, technologies like AI will assist us in doing our work better,” Hajkowicz explained.

Below is a snapshot of the megatrends: 

  1. Adapting to climate change: with natural disasters expected to cost the Australian economy almost three times more in 2050 than in 2017, we can expect to be living in a more volatile climate, characterized by unprecedented weather events.
  2. Leaner, cleaner and greener: an increased focus on potential solutions to our resource constraints through synthetic biology, alternative proteins, advanced recycling and the net-zero energy transition. By 2025, renewables are expected to surpass coal as the primary energy source.
  3. The escalating health imperative: the post-pandemic world has exacerbated existing health challenges posed by an ageing population and growing burden of chronic disease.  One in five Australians report high or very high levels of psychological distress and there is heightened risk of infectious diseases and pathogens resistant to modern antibiotics. There is now a burning platform to also respond to our health risks and improve health outcomes.
  4. Geopolitical shifts: an uncertain future, characterized by disrupted patterns of global trade, geopolitical tensions and growing investment in defence. While the global economy shrunk by 3.2% in 2020, global military spend reached an all-time high of $2.9 trillion and Australia saw a 13% increase in cybercrime reported relative to the previous year. 
  5. Diving into digital: the pandemic-fuelled a boom in digitization, with teleworking, telehealth, online shopping and digital currencies becoming mainstream. 40% of Australians now work remotely on a regular basis and the future demand for digital workers expected to increase by 79% from 2020 to 2025.
  6. Increasingly autonomous: there has been an explosion in artificial intelligence (AI) discoveries and applications across practically all industry sectors over the past several years. Within the science domain the use of AI is rising with the number of peer-reviewed AI publications increasing nearly 12 times from 2000 to 2019.
  7. Unlocking the human dimension: a strong consumer and citizen push for decision makers to consider trust, transparency, fairness and environmental and social governance. While Australia saw a record level increase in public trust in institutions during the pandemic, this ‘trust bubble’ has since burst, with societal trust in business dropping by 7.9% and trust in government declining by 14.8% from 2020-21.

Turquoise Hill rejects Rio Tinto’s US$2.7 billion takeover offer

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Turquoise Hill Resources (TSX, NYSE: TRQ) has rejected majority shareholder Rio Tinto’s (ASX: RIO) bid to buy the 49% stake it doesn’t already own in the company for US$2.7 billion, saying it did not reflect its full and fair value.

The decision by the special committee appointed by Turquoise Hill blocks Rio Tinto’s efforts to gain greater control of the giant Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine it’s developing in Mongolia.

It is also a setback to Rio’s plans to increase its exposure to so-called future facing commodities such as copper and nickel, which are key for the global green energy transition. Taking a big stake in the Oyu Tolgoi mine, Rio Tinto’s main copper growth project, would have helped the mining giant to achieve that goal.

The world’s second largest miner, which controls and operates Oyu Tolgoi through its 51% stake in Turquoise Hill, offered in March US$34 a share to the miner’s minority shareholders, a 32% premium to the closing price the day before the offer was put forward.

The offer came only two months after Rio and the government of Mongolia reached an agreement to complete the long-delayed US$6.9 billion underground development of the Oyu Tolgoi project in the Gobi Desert.

That deal saw the Melbourne-based miner agree to write off US$2.4 billion of loans and interest used by Ulan Bator to fund its share of the development costs.

Rio Tinto said it was “disappointed” by the rejection, adding it still believes the deal would deliver compelling value for Turquoise Hill’s minority shareholders.

Interim Chief Executive Steve Thibeault said the funding agreement with Rio Tinto remained in effect and that the company expected it to provide sufficient liquidity to meet funding requirements.

Thibeault was referring to an agreement reached in May in which Rio Tinto committed to provide an interim debt funding of up to US$400 million.

Turquoise Hill recently raised the cost estimate to develop the underground section of Oyu Tolgoi by about US$200 million.

The project total cost has climbed to US$7.06 billion, almost US$1.8 billion higher than the original estimate in 2015.  

Three-year delay and counting

The ongoing expansion of Oyu Tolgoi, located is 550 km south of Mongolia’s capital Ulaanbaatar, has been plagued by delays and costs overruns.

At time the situation has triggered the Mongolian government’s ire to the point of threatening to revoke the 2009 investment agreement, which underpins the mine development.

First production, initially expected in late 2020, was rescheduled for October 2022 and later to the first half of 2023.

Once completed, the underground section will lift production from 125,000–150,000 tonnes in 2019 to 560,000 tonnes at peak output, which is now expected by 2025 at the earliest.

According to the miner, this would make it the biggest new copper mine to come on stream in several years and, by 2030, the operation would be the world’s fourth largest copper mine.

Oyu Tolgoi is expected to produce 110,000-150,000 tonnes of copper and 150,000-170,000 ounces of gold in concentrates in 2022 from processing ore from the open pit, underground and stockpiles.

Rio Tinto controls and operates the Oyu Tolgoi mine via Turquoise Hill’s 66% stake in the operation. The government of Mongolia owns the remaining 34%.

Fleet’s earth scanning technology successfully trialed at lithium project in Australia

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Fleet Space Technologies has announced the successful completion of a trial using its proprietary ambient noise tomography (ANT) technology to faster and non-invasively find critical lithium deposits. The trial was commissioned by Australia’s newest lithium miner, Core Lithium, at its Finniss project in Australia’s Northern Territory.

In a statement to the ASX on Aug. 1, 2022, Core Lithium described the results of the trial as “an outstanding success”, noting an excellent correlation with the pegmatite body interpreted from drilling to depths in excess of 500 metres and stating that a number of previously unknown targets have emerged – a major boost for exploration.

Core Lithium’s Finniss project will be Australia’s newest lithium producer on the Australian Securities Exchange, with first production targeted for the fourth quarter this year. As one of Australia’s most capital efficient lithium projects, it has been awarded major project status by the Australian federal government.

The proposal between Fleet Space and Core Lithium outlined the subscription options for ExoSphere by Fleet. ExoSphere is a pioneering exploration technology that delivers detailed subsurface 3D velocity mapping using an array of Geodes, Fleet’s satellite-connected seismic sensors. The subscription included the rental of the Geodes, planning support, deployment support, and the real-time processing and delivery of any 3D shear velocity models.

Opportunity to revolutionize lithium exploration

Fleet’s ExoSphere technology has been created to answer the urgent global requirement to find a dramatically more sustainable, economically viable and faster route to finding critical mineral deposits. Since introducing ExoSphere technology to the market in early in 2022, Fleet has been engaged by the world’s leading exploration companies. 

ExoSphere is Fleet’s pioneering exploration technology. It delivers detailed subsurface 3D mapping using an array of Geodes. These devices are so portable and lightweight they can be transported and placed by hand. The Geodes use edge computing to analyze ambient seismic noise which is sent by Fleet’s network of small satellites for processing. The data is rapidly processed in the cloud to deliver a 3D visualization of the area to support critical exploration decisions. This makes searching for key energy transition minerals faster, more sustainable, less expensive and more accurate.

“ExoSphere is supporting the world’s transition to more sustainable practices by speeding up vital mineral discoveries more than one hundred-fold. We are proud to enable this critical step in mining to provide better access to the resources we need to make a better future for humanity,” stated Matt Pearson, co-founder of Fleet Space Technologies.

For more information, please visit fleetspace.com.

Micromine to provide fleet management solution to AngloGold’s Australian operations

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Micromine has entered into a three-year software agreement with AngloGold Ashanti to deliver its industry-leading mine control and fleet management solution, Micromine Pitram. It will be implemented at AngloGold’s Australian operations, Sunrise Dam and Tropicana, both located in Western Australia’s north-eastern goldfields.

Micromine Pitram will help the operations personnel to capture, manage, and optimize its activities by obtaining core operational asset data, including equipment, materials, and locations.

Andrew Birch, CEO of Micromine, said: “We are extremely proud to be providing our Micromine Pitram solution to AngloGold Ashanti. Our comprehensive mine control and fleet management solution enhances the productivity and profitability of a mine through real-time or near-real-time data.”

The open and scalable technology provides flexibility to incorporate equipment, systems, locations, and network assets as needed. From an executive team analyzing profit, operations managers optimizing productivity, to operators tracking progress, Micromine Pitram provides stakeholders at every level with greater visibility, control, and understanding of operational activities.

“Micromine Pitram is used and trusted by many of the world’s largest mining organizations, and this agreement is just another fantastic example,” added Birch.

Micromine Pitram is to be deployed at the two mines this month.

The Australian diamonds that no one can see

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Researchers working at the Clarke River Fault, west of Paluma in north Queensland, found the first metamorphic diamonds in rocks in Australia.

In a paper published in the journal Science Advances, the scientists point out that the diamonds are invisible to the naked eye.

“Don’t go to Paluma and start looking for them. Even for us, it was very difficult to find them,” Ioan Sanislav, co-author of the study, said in a media statement. “We had to analyze many, many thin sections of rock, and to prove the diamonds were there, it took about a year-and-a-half.”

Sanislav explained that metamorphic diamonds are formed in subduction zones when two land masses collide, causing the edge of one tectonic plate to descend below another and sink deep within the earth’s interior.

The process of metamorphism, which takes millions of years, generates a massive increase in pressure and temperature as rocks, once at the earth’s surface, descend to the mantle before coming back up in the form of metamorphic rocks containing the tiny diamonds.

As the super small diamonds are different from the more commonly recognized diamonds initially formed in the earth’s mantle, the researchers had to use a special Raman microscope to identify them. The device works by shooting a laser beam onto a rock sample which can then be used to determine the presence of minerals contained in a rock.

“The light then gets scattered and each mineral has a characteristic response, which gets back to the detector,” Sanislav said.

Until he and his colleagues confirmed the find near Paluma, there were only six other locations in the world where metamorphic diamonds were known to exist, ranging in size from microscopic right down to nanoscopic.

“In some places, there are metamorphic diamonds which you can’t even see with a microscope. You just see a reading in the rock which indicates they are in there,” the scientist said.

Sanislav noted that he was drawn to investigate the presence of metamorphic diamonds in the Clarke River Fault due to the work of a former student, who found evidence suggesting the rocks there had potentially experienced high-pressure metamorphism.

“This discovery will influence our understanding of the tectonic models and how the eastern coast of Australia formed,” he said.

Gold Fields slowly turning Yamana deal doubters into allies

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Gold Field’s (JSE, NYSE: GFI) intended acquisition of Canada’s Yamana Gold (TSX: YRI; NYSE: AUY) remains in limbo, though the South African miner has gained backers and says its shareholders are starting to understand the strategy.

Speaking after his second international roadshow to turn deal detractors around, Gold Fields chief executive Chris Griffith said some of the company’s investors are still fixed on the 33.8% premium offered for Yamana.

Since the Johannesburg-based miner approached its target, shareholders have criticized the proposed all-stock merger, arguing the friendly approach does not guarantee growth and profitability.

Griffith, who has been at the helm since April 2021, has said Gold Fields offered a large premium because Yamana was trading at a discount to net asset value and the offer would have been dismissed at a lower price.

“There is still some pushback on the premium,” he told MINING.COM. “However, when we’ve shown investors the relative price we are paying for these assets compared to the price paid in the market, more and more of them are understanding that the premium is not the only way to look at this.”

Since the day the offer was first announced, on May 31, Gold Fields has lost 29% of its value and Yamana 15%, leaving the Canadian gold target with a market capitalization of US$4.4 billion, compared to US$6.7 billion it had in May.

“It hasn’t helped that the market has been so absolutely miserable over the last six weeks, but what we have seen is that Gold Fields has come back versus the market,” Griffith said, noting the company is currently down about 7%.

To ease investors’ concerns, Gold Fields improved the original bid early July by offering to pay shareholders 30% to 45% of normalized earnings at the interim and final dividend stages, up from a previous payout range of 25% to 35%.

It also promised a 45% payout for the 2023 interim and final dividends after it completes the friendly acquisition of Yamana, and a Toronto Stock Exchange listing.

Despite gold investors calling for further consolidation in the sector, to offset rising costs, Griffith admitted he’s still far from certain whether Gold Fields will obtain the 75% of the votes needed to go ahead with the deal.

“We’ve still got two months to go. I think it’s a bit early to say it will be smooth sailing,” the executive said.

He noted he’s confident they’ll “get there” as the company plans to invest more time talking to shareholders.

Fourth-largest gold miner

The proposed merger would create the world’s fourth-largest gold miner, which is expected to surpass Agnico Eagle (TSX, NYSE: AEM) in a year to take third place.

If the merger is voted down, Gold Fields would not have to pay the US$450 million break fee and Griffith says the company would continue to look for deals to underpin future growth.

If it goes ahead, the executive has warned that some assets will be divested to streamline the combined company’s portfolio.

Gold Fields has guided 2.3 million ounces of gold production for this year, increasing to 2.8 million in 2024. After that, output could fall to as low as 2.1 million by 2030 without a deal that enhances the company’s portfolio.

Yamana Gold, which needs just two-thirds of total shareholder approval, has mines in Canada, Argentina, Chile and Brazil. Its acquisition would fit Gold Fields’ plans to expand across the Americas.

Congo to offer 30 oil and gas blocks for licensing

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Democratic Republic of Congo will offer 27 oil blocks and three gas blocks, nearly double as many as previously planned, in a licensing round next week, the hydrocarbons ministry said on Monday.

Congo, a leading miner of copper, cobalt, gold and diamonds, has long aimed to boost its oil sector and is believed to have sizeable reserves. Output has remained flat for years at about 25,000 barrels per day because of underinvestment.

Environmental groups and activists have expressed alarm at the plans, as many of the concessions overlap national parks. Congo has in the past defended its right to drill for oil in national parks. Read full story

The blocks to be put up for auction on July 28 include three in the coastal basin of Kongo Central province, nine in the Cuvette Centrale, 11 near Lake Tanganyika and four near Lake Albert. The three gas blocks are on Lake Kivu.

The Cuvette Centrale in particular sits on peatlands that scientists say could release massive quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere if disturbed.

Congo had initially planned to auction 16 oil blocks, nine of which overlapped with protected areas. The ministry said in its statement on Monday that it had decided to auction 30 now to maximise opportunities for the country.

Despite its High Interest, Russia Achieves Little in Oil and Gas Sector in Africa

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According to the World Bank, Russia holds the world’s largest natural gas reserves, the second largest coal reserves, and the eighth largest oil reserves. Over the past years, Russia has expressed heightened interest in exploring and producing oil and gas in Africa. Emboldened African leaders and industry executives have accepted proposals, several agreements and whatever were signed, but little have been achieved in the sector. With the rapidly changing geopolitical conditions and economic fragmentation fraught with competition and rivaly, African leaders have to understand that Russia might not heavily invest in the oil and gas sector, not even in the needed infrastructure.

Nearly our monitoring, research and several interviews with experts especially inside Africa, we can conclude that Russia-Ukraine crisis has brought into its fold good opportunities. Understandably, Russia is energy self-sufficient, it does not need to import energy from Africa, it can only act as a fortified gatekeeper. It has done these several years, primarily to ensure control of Africa’s energy from entering the global market. Popular opinion now is that potential African producers can take advantage to attract investments required to build infrastructure that would enable them to expand exploration, production and exportation to meet the anticipated increase in demand in Europe.

Reading the daily news feed, Russia’s interests about possible participation in the oil and gas related projects is perceived by some experts as a bid to either sabotage or control the flow of gas from Africa into Europe. Many more experts have scholarly written about the implications of Russia-Ukraine crisis, and what that means especially for Africa. The crisis casts a long shadow across Africa. Despite the geographical distance, there are implications the need for forging pan-African solidarity and adherence to working towards developing the continent’s natural resources. If this is not done, then Africa will continue importing oil and gas, and increasingly certain to sit on the untapped reserves.

During June 2021 interview discussions with NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber, a pan-African company that focuses on research, documentation, negotiations and transactions in the energy sector, expressed the urgent necessity for scaling up Africa’s production capacity in order to achieve universal access to energy. He further noted the challenging tasks and pointed strongly to the need for a transformative partnership-based strategy, (that requires transparency, good governance and policies that could create a favourable investment climate) and that aims at increasing access to energy for all Africans.

Natural gas, affordable and abundant in Africa, has the power to spark significant job creation and capacity-building opportunities, economic diversification and growth. Sustainable development of African economies can only be attained by the development of local industry — by investing in Africans, building up African entrepreneurs and supporting the creation of indigenous companies. It requires a cooperative efforts by Africans.

Can both have a unified approach to collaborating on issues of energy projects in Africa? To this question, NJ Ayuk said that Africa has already made an indelible mark in the oil and gas industry, and Africans must become more accountable, plan better in the energy sectors. But for some potential external investors only admire “dating and promising” and, in practical terms,  not their priority to invest in the sector.

He rhetorically asked Africa has been receiving aid for nearly six decades, and what good has it done? In order to change the tide, Africans must be responsible. Consider the impact of energy deficiency. Approximately 840 million Africans, mostly in sub-Saharan countries, have no access to electricity. Hundreds of millions have unreliable or limited power at best. Even during normal circumstances, energy poverty should not be the reality for most Africans.

The popular narratives about the prevalence of energy poverty on the continent has to change. We need good governance that creates an enabling environment for widespread economic growth and improved infrastructure. African leaders need an unwavering determination to make Africa work for us, even when there are missteps and things go wrong.

The African Energy Chamber is raising A Banner for African Oil & Gas. It plans to hold Oil and Gas conference this October. As part of the conference, and will present its special report titled “State of African Energy Q2 2022 Report” during the conference. According to the report, increasing oil and gas activity and a record number of new discoveries have set the stage for significant industry growth in the second half of 2022.

In Namibia alone, for example, two breakthrough discoveries, Shell’s Graff and Total Energies’ Venus-1X, have opened frontier oil play onshore. Industry experts estimate that Venus-1X may hold recoverable resources of some 3 billion barrels of recoverable oil, making it Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest-ever oil discovery. Namibia, in fact, has led the way in new oil and gas activity this year and is emerging as an exploration hot spot. In northeast Namibia and northwest Botswana, ReconAfrica has licensed operations for the newly discovered 8.5-million-acre Kavango Basin, one of the world’s largest onshore undeveloped basins.

This is great news for our industry, which was hit especially hard by Covid-19 and has struggled to regain momentum. The energy sector was crippled by historically low volumes in 2020 and 2021, creating an even more critical need for new exploration. And Namibia is just one example of the new discoveries being made all over Africa. The Q2 2022 report outlines a number of new developments across the continent.

Eni discovered the Baleine field in Cote d’Ivoire last year, which contains as many as 2 billion barrels of recoverable oil and nearly 2 Tcf of gas offshore. This is a big deal for Côte d’Ivoire, which up until now has been producing about 34,000 barrels of crude per day from four blocks.

In Angola, TotalEnergies is drilling for the first time since 2018 and has executed a sale and purchase agreement with state-owned Sonangol for two blocks in the Kwanza Basin offshore. Other majors, including ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, and Eni, are active in Angola as well. More than a dozen high-impact wells are predicted in the next 18 months in Libya, Ghana, Mozambique, South Africa, Equatorial Guinea, Morocco, Egypt, and others. Egypt alone has awarded eight oil and gas exploration blocks to Eni, BP, Apex International, Energean, United Energy, Enap Sipetrol, and INA.

And after long delays because of Covid-19, licensing rounds are planned, open, or under evaluation in more than a dozen countries including Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Gabon, and Congo. The results are expected to be announced this year. Higher greenfield spending is also forecast as more projects get the green light. In Kenya, for example, large investments are expected in the greenfield onshore development of Tullow’s South Lokichar basin, Turkana County. At an estimated 585 billion barrels, this is widely considered one of the last big conventional onshore projects in the world.

These discoveries and others referenced in the Chamber’s Q2 2022 report are tremendously exciting. And if managed them properly, it could make significant progress toward the goal of a just energy transition: alleviating energy poverty, stimulating economic growth, and improving the lives of everyday Africans.

The State of African Energy Q2 2022 Report outlines an unprecedented level of new oil and gas discoveries on the African continent. The simple, staggering fact that more than half of Sub-Saharan Africans lack access to electricity means priority must continue to end energy poverty. With Africa’s population projected to exceed two billion by 2040, generation capacity will need to be doubled by 2030 and multiplied fivefold by 2050.

Oil and gas are Africa’s lifeblood and the foundation for economic development. The future depends on sustaining the longevity of the industry. And with such vast quantities of oil and gas available, we should increase production accordingly and use those resources to benefit Africans.

Africa’s wealth of new oil discoveries is not only a chance to recover some of the devastating losses suffered in the last two years — it represents an opportunity to achieve an energy transition that benefits all Africans. According to the report, increasing oil and gas activity and a record number of new discoveries have set the stage for significant industry growth in the second half of 2022.

Some experts interviewed have expressed their thoughts. Some believe that Europe can look to Africa as preferred energy supplier. On the other hand, Africa is ready to welcome investors currently pulling out of Russia if they can genuinely invest in developing oil and gas infrastructure which Africa seriously lacks in this industry. That’s a real opportunity, I think, for Africa at this point in time.

Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, OPEC Secretary General, (before his death early July) stressed is his last speech that “It is essential if we are to develop new technologies, strengthen the human capacity and remain leaders in innovation so that we can do our part to meet the world’s growing need for energy, shrink our overall environmental footprint, and expand access to underserved communities. Yet the industry is now facing huge challenges along multiple fronts, and these threaten the investment potential now and in the longer term.”

Regrettably, we are seeing global energy cooperation becoming more fragmented. New regional alignments are threatening to reverse years of progress towards creating a more stable and interconnected energy system. We cannot afford to allow multilateral energy cooperation and global energy security become collateral damage of geopolitics, the OPEC Secretary General said.

As an author of this article, I would acknowledge that for African countries with huge oil and gas reserves, it is necessary to underscore the importance of cooperation in exploring and producing this resource to support the needed sustainable development goals, and attempt at becoming more prominent on the global energy stage.

Today, African countries face major challenges. Rapid population growth and the worsening energy crisis are constraining economic growth on the continent. In addition to that, poor transport infrastructure, access of the population to health services, low level of education and food supply insecurity are severely hampering efforts to improve the quality of life throughout Africa.

Our monitoring, research and analysis show that Africa has the fastest-growing population in the world, but half of this population is without energy supply. That is why African leaders have to seriously prioritize the right energy policies to make access to energy the most effective way possible in Africa.

Russian Presidential Special Representative for Middle East and Africa, Mikhail Bogdanov, in an April interview to Interfax news agency, he was asked “many people in Europe are convinced that Africa is capable of increasing the production and supplies of gas to Europe instead of Russia’s. In your opinion, how realistic is this?” He explained that “the world is governed by market rules. The reason is the existence of a whole system – consumer markets, traditional suppliers, contracts, not to mention pipelines and oil terminals. In short, this cannot be done in an instant. It will take years to replace supply chains and to build new infrastructure.”

Bogdanov says Africa is beyond any doubt the continent of the future, both from the point of view of human resources and because it is a storeroom of the world, one of the richest regions. Another issue is that colonial powers, as well as neocolonialists, have never let the Africans take advantage of the treasure which is literally right under their feet. People are working despite the fact that unscrupulous Western competitors are trying to hinder the operations.

President Vladimir Putin addressed the plenary session of the VTB Capital Russia Calling! Investment Forum held VTB Bank. As usual, the forum brought together from all over the world, business leaders, investment managers and consultants, as well as international experts in the field of the economy and finance. Putin had the opportunity, not only to listen to academics and researchers, sometimes even opposing views of the current developments, but also enjoyed interactive exchange of opinions with potential investors, an insight into the mood of business partners both in Russia and abroad.

On Africa, Putin noted at the VTB Capital’s Russia Calling Forum, that many countries had been “stepping up their activities on the African continent” but added that Russia could not cooperate with Africa “as it was in the Soviet period, for political reasons.” For decades, Russia has been looking for effective ways to promote multifaceted ties and new strategies for cooperation in energy, oil and gas, trade and industry in Africa.

But so far, Russia’s investment efforts in the region have been limited which experts attributed to lack of a system of financing policy projects. While Russia government is very cautious about making financial commitments, Russia’s financial institutions are not involved in financing initiatives in Africa.

At the same time, Russian companies currently have a limited presence in Africa, simply there are no stimulus for efforts to localize production of equipment and strengthen technological partnership in the sector. Russia contentiously claims the leading position as a supplier and now rapidly diversifying its products at discounted prices to Asian market. With the emerging new economic order, it is simply logical that Africans should not expect much in this oil and gas sector from Russia.

KSB and Leistritz launch international service alliance

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Germany’s KSB SE & CoKGaA and Leistritz Pumpen GmbH have unveiled an international service alliance to raise customer service worldwide to a new, networked and especially fast level.

Image © WrightStudio – stock.adobe.com.

Following a successful test phase in France, the service alliance will now be rolled out to other countries.

Frankenthal-headquartered KSB has more than 190 service centres and around 3,500 service staff offering customers global inspection, maintenance and repair services. To further expand its premium KSB SupremeServ brand, the company is cooperating with Nuremberg-based Leistritz with the aim of becoming more efficient and networked and providing an extended range of screw pump services.

“The next step will be to extend the service alliance to our customers in Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia,” explains Markus Schwarte, managing director of Leistritz Pumpen GmbH. “Together, we are even faster and can precisely respond to our customers’ needs 24/7, offering a high level of availability, 365 days a year. Classic, personal, local and global, digitally connected.”

Dr Dirk Kollmar, head of Service Operations at KSB, says: “We have joined forces to offer our customers a service package that can be tailored to all applications while at the same time progressively expanding our joint global service presence.”

Roper Technologies to sell majority stake in its industrial businesses to Clayton, Dubilier & Rice

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Roper Technologies Inc has agreed to sell a majority stake in its industrial businesses, including its entire Process Technologies segment and the industrial businesses within its Measurement & Analytical Solutions segment, to affiliates of private investment firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice LLC (CD&R).

Image © red150770 – stock.adobe.com.

Roper will receive total upfront, pre-tax cash proceeds of approximately US$2.6 billion while retaining a 49% minority interest in a new standalone entity.

The transaction includes the Cornell, FMI and Roper Pump businesses, as well as Alpha, AMOT, CCC, Dynisco, FTI, Hansen, Hardy, Logitech, Metrix, PAC, Struers, Technolog, Uson and Viatran. Together, these businesses generated approximately US$940 million of revenue and US$260 million of EBITDA in 2021.

“This is the final step in Roper’s divestiture strategy to reduce the cyclicality and asset intensity of our enterprise,” said Neil Hunn, Roper Technologies’ president and CEO. “Selling a majority interest in these industrial businesses will provide Roper with significant upfront cash, while maintaining the ability to receive additional cash proceeds from the future exit of our minority interest.”

“We are excited to partner with CD&R given their track record of successful corporate partnerships. Operating as a standalone entity will enable these businesses to build on their niche-leading strategies and continue creating value for their customers and shareholders,” added Hunn.

John Stroup, operating advisor to CD&R Funds, will lead the standalone entity when the transaction closes.