Ethiopia, Chinese Firm Ink Gas Commercialisation Deal

Apr 25 , 2020


[ssba-buttons]

The Ministry of Mines & Petroleum and the Chinese POLY-GCL Petroleum Investment have signed a gas commercialisation agreement, which will ensure the planned fertiliser plant in Dire Dawa is supplied with ammonia. The agreement, which was signed on the premises of the Ministry on April 24, 2020, grants POLY-GCL the right to commercialise four trillion cubic feet of gas for both the local and international markets. Half of the gas will be supplied to the fertiliser plant, which Morocco’s Office Cherifien des Phosphates (OCP), the world’s largest phosphate exporter, and the state-run Chemical Industries Corporation agreed to build in Dire Dawa for 3.7 billion dollars. The agreement was signed four years ago. The remaining will be made available to the international market through a pipeline stretching from Ethiopia to Djibouti and later converted to liquified natural gas (LNG) at a natural gas processing plant to be built in Djibouti. POLY-GCL has been extracting natural gas at Calub, Hilala and Shilabo sites in the Ogaden area in the Somali Regional State. The plant is expected to convert 215 million cubic feet of natural gas to LNG daily. The project is expected to generate six billion dollars over 20 years. The area has a reserve of eight trillion cubic feet of gas.


Radar

Hijra Bank Backs Young Innovators with Awards, Loans

Hijra Bank has awarded five young Ethiopian innovators in the final round of its “Sirara” Creative Spark Awards, selected from over 27,000 applicants. The programme targets practical innovations in agriculture, sustainability, and appropriate technology. Top winner Milkias Ahmed (PhD) received a 300,000 Br prize and a 3 million Br interest-free loan for developing an organic soil conditioner from animal bones. Second and third prizes went to Yusuf Ali and Muhammad Juhar for a crop-harvest...


Radar

Bright Vision Centre Rolls Out First Refractive Eye Surgery Service

Bright Vision Special Eye Care Center, based in the Bira Building near Wollo Sefer, has become the first facility in Ethiopia to offer refractive eye surgery. The service was made possible through support from the London Vision Clinic, which provided specialised equipment and professional training. The quick procedure, completed in under 10 minutes, treats common vision impairments such as nearsightedness and farsightedness. Previously unavailable in the country, access to this type of treatm...


Radar

Fertiliser Shipments Gain Momentum Ahead of Planting Season

Over 15.2 million quintals of fertiliser have entered Ethiopia through the Djibouti corridor as of July 20, 2025, according to the Ethiopian Maritime Authority(EMA). The shipments form part of the 24 million quintals earmarked for the 2025/26 production year. Of the total delivered, 12.8 million quintals arrived by dry freight trucks crossing land borders, while 2.4 million quintals were transported via the Ethio-Djibouti Railway. Another 50,777tn of soil fertiliser remains stationed at port...