Exploration is back on the menu in Africa, with big finds and strong prices
Exploration is back, emissaries of some of the world’s top oil companies have said, with Africa in a strong position to meet new demand.
Offshore
Havfram comes back to finish decom work offshore Mauritania
Havfram has won work to decommission subsea facilities at Chinguetti and Banda, offshore Mauritania, from Petronas.
TotalEnergies readies for Nigeria drilling
TotalEnergies is in the process of securing a rig to drill up to nine development wells, and two exploration/appraisal wells on Nigeria’s OML 130, Africa Oil has said.
Eni sees African opportunities, including in its trees
Eni’s Scope 1 and 2 emissions increased in 2021, largely as a result of its African operations, but it offset this through the acquisition of 2 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in forestry credits.
Kosmos turns on the cash flow spigots and looks to LNG
Kosmos Energy is generating free cash flow at unprecedented volumes, allowing it to pay down debt, and has been talking up LNG.
Sirius, Somoil seal Sonangol sale
Sirius Petroleum and Somoil have officially signed a sale and purchase agreement for stakes in three blocks offshore Angola for $335.5 million.
Sungara sets out $500mn deal to buy into Block 15/06
Sungara Energies has signed a deal to buy a 10% stake in Block 15/06, offshore Angola, from state-owned Sonangol.
Worley wins FEED work for world’s longest offshore pipeline
Worley will carry out a front-end engineering and design (FEED) study for the proposed Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP) project.
Vaalco starts up second well, spuds a third
Vaalco Energy has completed a new well in the Etame field. Initial flow rates of 3,100 barrels per day of oil gross exceeding internal expectations.
Namibia eyes Shell, TotalEnergies production in 2028
Namibia aims to reach production from its Venus and Graff discoveries by 2028, Immanuel Mulunga, managing director of Namcor has said.
Namibia’s next great hopes, beyond Venus and Graff
Namibia has leapt to the forefront of exploration thinking with the Venus and Graff discoveries earlier this year, but there are opportunities beyond TotalEnergies and Shell.
Saipem wins offshore drilling contracts in Middle East and West Africa
Italian energy contractor Saipem (BIT: SPM) has won new offshore drilling contracts in the Middle East and West Africa worth over $400 million.
Bowleven warns of complexity, financial strain on path to Etinde
Bowleven has warned that the final investment decision (FID) for Etinde is expected in late 2022 but that it will need to raise financing.
Tullow emissions rise on Ghanaian flaring
Tullow Oil increased emissions in 2021 amid delays in installing gas capturing equipment offshore Ghana.
Eni scales up Ndungu find to billion barrels
Eni believes its Ndungu field could hold 800 million to 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent in place.
Vaalco picks DOF Subsea for FSO switchover work
Vaalco Energy has contracted DOF Subsea to carry out subsea construction and installation work to allow it to go ahead with swapping in a floating storage and offloading (FSO) vessel in Gabon.
BP, Eni to combine Angolan assets in new joint venture
BP and Eni have reached an agreement to combine their Angolan businesses in a 50:50 joint venture.
South Africa’s DMRE flies the flag for hydrocarbons
South Africa has made clear it is not moving away from hydrocarbons in the near term, talking up exploration plans and gas imports, in addition to scope for new coal generation.
Eco completes Azinam purchase, eyes Q3 drilling
Eco Atlantic Oil & Gas has completed its acquisition of Azinam Group, setting the stage for drilling offshore South Africa late this year.
Tullow flexes positive plans on improved optimism
Amid higher oil prices, Tullow Oil is beginning to scale up its growth plans once more, raising near term possibilities for drilling around TEN and further out plans for gas and Kenya.
Qatar pledges training help for Namcor following major finds
QatarEnergy (QE) has signed up to support Namcor, following two high-profile discoveries in the Southern African state.
South African court knocks back Searcher Seismic again
The Western Cape High Court has confirmed Searcher Seismic cannot go ahead with its data acquisition plans off the west coast of South Africa.
Eni starts up Ndungu on Block 15/06
Eni has begun producing at the Ndungu project in Angola’s Block 15/06.
TotalEnergies makes significant splash at Venus
TotalEnergies has made a “significant” discovery at the Venus 1-X well, offshore Namibia.
Panoro focuses on development in 2022
Panoro Energy more than tripled its production in 2021, to 7,582 barrels per day of oil.