ANGOLA

Brent crude fell for a third day running on Tuesday as Libyan rebels gained ground against embattled leader Muammar Gaddafi, boosting expectations supplies from the nation may be restored quicker than expected.

The nuclear emergency in Japan has led more than two dozen countries to either shut down their embassies in Tokyo or to relocate further south in the country, according to the Foreign Ministry.

There are no good outcomes, only bad, really bad, and catastrophic. Take your pick. Could gas prices drop below $3.00 per gallon if the world sinks back into recession? Yes. But it would only be momentary. The easy to access supply is dwindling. The medium and long term direction of gas at the pump is up. There is nothing that can be done in the next five years to prevent significantly higher oil prices.

When crude prices fall, oil companies tend to pass on the reductions -- albeit grudgingly -- to motorists. In most of Africa, the same cannot be said of interest rates.

BP said on Friday it would shut its Plutonio oilfield in Angola for maintenance work in April and expected the stream to return to production in May.

In the muggy forest of central Liberia, a gang of workers is inching its way along a railway track, cut long and straight through an otherwise impenetrable mesh of trees and vines. The drone of insects is interrupted by a high-pitched drill and the clang of hammers as workers put the finishing touches to the perfectly aligned steel tracks.

African farmland investment has the potential to match the exponential growth of Brazil's agricultural industry, the head of business development at privately owned agricultural operator Quifel said.

French oil major Total will reduce production of its Angolan crude grade Dalia in April for planned maintenance, trade sources said on Thursday.

Zimbabwe is an important ally to China and Beijing will seek to further strengthen ties, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said of a country isolated by the West under President Robert Mugabe's rule.

African economic growth is heading back to pre-crisis growth levels, propelled by strong demand for its resources and increased South-South investment, notably from China.

Italy's oil and gas major Eni has won an international tender to operate block 35 in deepwater offshore Angola as it pushes to expand on its core African market and boost deepwater development.

Norway's oil and gas producer Statoil told Reuters on Wednesday it saw potential for big discoveries in Angola's ultra-deep water blocks, known as pre-salt blocks, in which it was awarded concessions on Monday.

Uganda President Yoweri Museveni is against the United Nations' recognition of Alassane Ouattara as winner of Ivory Coast's election and wants an African Union probe into the poll, his spokesman said on Tuesday.

BP, Total, Eni and other international majors were awarded concessions to explore in Angola's ultra-deep water blocks known as pre-salt blocks, Angola's state-owned oil firm Sonangol said on Monday.

Angola's much-delayed stock market will not open this year as many of the country's companies do not meet the requirements needed to participate on a bourse, the government said.

Paris-based telecoms equipment giant Alcatel-Lucent SA and three of its subsidiaries have agreed to pay a combined $92 million penalty to settle a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) investigation into the global sales practice of Alcatel S.A. prior to its 2006 merger with Lucent Technologies Inc.

Angola is hoping to get back on the world’s tourism map with Tarpons – a fish majorly found in Atlantic waters known for their fighting abilities and large size.

Ivory Coast's incumbent President has yet again reiterated that despite domestic and international pressure, he would not abdicate. Observers fear that a renewed civil war in the country is almost inevitable.

Cote d'Ivoire's disputed president, Laurent Gbagbo, has announced that he would be willing to engage with the rival faction of Alassane Ouattara. In a televised address, he announced that the international community had declared a war on the African nation. The incumbent president also called on the Opposition to leave Abidjan's Golf Hotel and return to their homes.

The European Union agreed on Monday to ban Cote d'Ivoire's incumbent President, Laurent Gbagbo and his aides, the BBC reported. The Gbagbo regime is likely to be slapped with harsh sanctions from the West. The sanction could also include freezing the personal overseas assets of the president and his men and issuing visa bans.

Crude production from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) dropped in November by around 70,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 29.1 million bpd, a Platts survey of oil industry officials and analysts showed on Monday.