Arbitration awards Kosmos Energy Senegal LNG project to BP, as the sole purchaser
Kosmos Energy announced on Tuesday that a Paris arbitrator ruled in favor of BP, preventing Kosmos to sell liquefied gas from the Greater Tortue project off Senegal and Mauritania. LNG is a key part of BP's energy transition strategy. Energy major BP has established a significant LNG pipeline across the globe, including Sub-Saharan Africa. Nigeria, Angola Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea are already shipping significant volumes.
Rolling the Dice in Chaos: The Prospects of Investment in the Gas Industry
As stated in the Declaration of Malabo at the 5th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the GECF Member Countries, in order to sustain the security of demand and supply of natural gas, it is necessary to ensure sufficient investments through the entire gas value chain among all gas market stakeholders [1].Since the start of 2020, every aspect of the global economy, including investment projects in natural gas industry, have been strongly hit by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
New Offshore Acreage Licensing to Drop 60% in 2020, Rystad says
Newly licensed offshore oil and gas exploration acreage is likely to fall by about 60% and onshore acreage by 30% compared with 2019 levels, Rystad Energy has said, as the Norwegian energy market analytics company expects more than half of the world’s planned licensing rounds to be canceled this year due to the combined effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and the low oil prices."This year was slated to be another remarkable year for exploration with about 45 countries launching at least 52 lease rounds…
Vaalco Eyes Equatorial Guinea Block
Houston-based Vaalco Energy said that it is in talks to serve as operator for three Equatorial Guinea (EG) oil blocks recently awarded to Levene Hydrocarbon.Vaalco Energy Mauritius (Vaalco EG), the subsidiary of the company, is in preliminary talks to become a contract operator for offshore block 19 and two onshore concessions but would not own any interest in the blocks.Mauritius subsidiary currently holds a 31% participating interest in Block P…
Kosmos Strikes Oil Off Equatorial Guinea
American upstream oil company founded and based in Dallas Kosmos Energy made an offshore oil discovery in Equatorial Guinea, Reuters reported quoting the Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons.The S-5 well was drilled at a total depth of 4,400 meters and encountered 39 meters of net oil play in the Santonian reservoir, in the offshore Rio Muni Basin, it said. “The discovery is a strong validation of our strategy to replace oil reserves by exploring the highly prospective oil basins like Rio Muni…
African LNG to Attract $103Bln in 2019
With greenfield investments in Nigeria, Egypt, Mozambique and elsewhere reaching nearly $103 billion this year, it is clear that liquefaction is viewed as the most profitable strategy for realizing Africa’s gas potential, said Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF).Africa is an exciting frontier in the global natural gas sector. The continent holds 7.1 percent of proven global gas reserves and is expected to contribute…
W African Firm Builds LNG Import Capacity
Equatorial Guinea is set to construct the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage and regasification plant in West Africa, advancing efforts to monetize gas resources through the creation of a domestic gas-to-power infrastructure.Located at the Port of Akonikien, the landmark regasification plant will enable the storage, transportation and distribution of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the country’s mainland; 12 bullet tanks will carry 14…
MDL Wins Equatorial Guinea Pipelay Work
Maritime Developments (MDL), a provider of back-deck equipment for the subsea sector of oil and gas industry, has been awarded a contract to supply a complete pipelay spread and personnel for a flexible installation offshore Equatorial Guinea.The award comes from a new client, whose work scope covers the launch of a number of new wells in an existing network of drill centres in the West African basin, MDL said.The MDL spread will consist of the MDL Horizontal Lay System (HLS)…
Mitsui, JOGMEC join Arctic LNG-2
Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co and state-owned Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) have signed a sales and purchase agreement with Russia’s Novatek for a 10% participation interest in the Arctic LNG 2 project.The share will be acquired through the Dutch Company, Japan Arctic LNG B.V., in which Mitsui has invested jointly with JOGMEC. The equity ratio of JOGMEC and Mitsui will be set at 75 percent…
New Pipeline Coming Offshore Equatorial Guinea
Noble Energy and partners will build a pipeline linking Equatorial Guinea's offshore gas fields to an onshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant to boost exports, the African nation's government said on Monday.Under a deal with the government the 70 km (44 miles) pipe will have capacity for 950 million cubic feet of gas per day from fields operated by Noble and will be ready in the first quarter of 2021.Once liquefied at the export plant, which is run by Marathon Oil, the gas will be shipped to markets across the globe.S
Equatorial Guinea to Offer Ophir's Old Blocks
Equatorial Guinea will offer offshore Block R with the related Fortuna gas development project in the April licensing round, after the concession was reclaimed from Ophir Energy Plc, the oil minister said on Tuesday.Gabriel Obiang Lima told Reuters in Cape Town that Block R would be one of up to 13 deepwater and ultra deepwater blocks offered in the licensing round on April 1.Ophir was denied an extension in December to its licence for Block R and its plan for a floating liquiefied natural gas (LNG) project.
Ophir Loses Block R Licence, Equatorial Guinea
London-based oil and gas exploration and production company Ophir Energy said that it has received notification from the Equatorial Guinea Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons that the Block R Licence, which contains the Fortuna gas discovery, will not be extended following expiry of the licence on December 31, 2018."As a consequence, there will be an additional non-cash impairment of the asset, expected to be around $300 million…
WoodMac on Medco Energi's Potential Takeover of Ophir Energy
Wood Mackenzie Research Director, Angus Rodger, provides insight on a of UK-listed Ophir Energy by Indonesia's Medco Energi."On the first day of 2019, Ophir announced it was in talks with Indonesia's Medco Energi regarding a cash takeover. No amount or other details have yet been released, other than Medco has to make a clear binding offer by the 28th of January if a deal is to proceed. Ophir's upstream portfolio includes assets in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania.
Medco Energi's Potential Deal with Ophir Seen as Diversification Play
Medco Energi Internasional Tbk PT would boost its valuations and gain access to international assets if its potential takeover of London-listed Ophir Energy occurs, analysts said on Wednesday.Medco confirmed this week that it was in talks with Ophir about a possible cash offer for the oil and gas exploration and production company currently based in Britain. Medco, headquartered in Jakarta, earns the bulk of its revenue from oil and gas operations…
Golar LNG Unwinds Joint Venture with Schlumberger
Golar LNG said on Thursday it would wind down its joint venture with Schlumberger, called OneLNG, which had been involved in the development of the Fortuna LNG project with Ophir in Equatorial Guinea.Golar said despite an agreed development plan and extensive efforts in the last 12 months by OneLNG and Ophir management, it has not been possible to finalise an attractive debt financing package.This, together with other capital and resource priorities, resulted in a decision from Schlumberger to end their participation in
Equatorial Guinea May Strip Ophir of LNG Project Due to Finance Delays
Equatorial Guinea will force Ophir Energy out of the company's flagship liquefied natural gas (LNG) project and may scrap it entirely unless long-delayed financing deals worth $1.2 billion are presented to the government by December.The ultimatum is a blow to UK-listed Ophir, which has set aside $150 million of its own cash to develop west Africa's first deepwater LNG project, Fortuna, by 2022 despite its lack of a track record in LNG and small balance sheet."We have a clear idea of who we would give the license to but
[Op/Ed] Congo and OPEC: A Marriage of Mutual Need
The Republic of the Congo has suffered dearly during the oil collapse; and Congolese President Denis Nguesso has pledged that the country would no longer be sitting on the side lines — suffering the effects of global decision-making in the oil industry without a voice. In an official communiqué announcing the bid for OPEC membership, he stated that he wished to “place our country in the rank of the world’s leaders.”In January…
Start of Golar's FLNG in Cameroon May Draw More Africa Clients
Golar LNG said on Monday it had started production at its floating LNG (FLNG) platform in Cameroon, the world's second working example of the nascent technology and a milestone likely to boost its Fortuna project in Equatorial Guinea. As the cost of land-based LNG plants more than tripled in the decade to 2013, Golar pioneered the conversion of ageing LNG tankers into giant refrigerators capable of chilling gas into its liquid form at minus 162 Celsius.
Danos Completes Offshore Facility Turnaround
Danos reports it has completed a turnaround comprising four client offshore facilities in Equatorial Guinea. Though estimated to require 10 days of downtime, Danos completed the work ahead of schedule, with production resuming after only seven days. The project required approximately 70 skilled craftsmen who were mobilized from 10 different cities and then transported to West Africa, plus a crew of workers from the Philippines with specialized expertise in British Standard Scaffolding.
OPEC Oil Cut Adherence Rises in December
OPEC deepened compliance with an oil supply-cutting deal in December due to a further decline in Venezuelan output and extra cuts by Gulf exporters, a Reuters survey found, showing strong commitment to the deal despite higher prices. Adherence to the curbs rose to 128 percent from 125 percent in November, the survey found. The United Arab Emirates for the first time since the deal took effect in January 2017 pumped below its OPEC target, joining Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
