Petrofac secures $350m contract with Equatorial Guinea’s national oil company
Oil and gas service provider Petrofac (LON:PFC) has secured a $350 million contract with the national oil company of Equatorial Guinea.
Oil and gas service provider Petrofac (LON:PFC) has secured a $350 million contract with the national oil company of Equatorial Guinea.
Panoro Energy expects growth to continue this year, targeting 40% more production than 2023, despite problems around drilling in Equatorial Guinea.
RoyalGate Energy has informed Equatorial Guinea that it intends to begin arbitration over Block Z, alleging “material breaches” from the Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons.
"The BOP has been checked and tested by the OEM representative on board the rig and declared safe and ready for operations. Island Drilling is evaluating all legal recourse at its disposal to contest the termination."
Exxon Mobil plans to leave Equatorial Guinea within months, marking an end to almost three decades of oil drilling that transformed the small West African nation into an OPEC member.
The partners have decided to defer the drilling programme offshore Equatorial Guinea, until they can find another rig and drilling contractor.
The statement went on to say Descalzi planned to visit Malabo in the near future to present agricultural and energy projects.
It expects the overall chance that one of the three prospects is commercial to be 91%. All three prospects can be drilled from a single well with two sidetracks.
As a result, the drilling company said the rig would be in Equatorial Guinea for around 230 days. Trident also has another two options it could exercise.
Equatorial Guinea Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue said state-backed Gepetrol was on the way to increasing its operational capacity.
The major point flagged by the charges concern a contract win from late 2014. Swiber at the time said it had won a $710 million contract in West Africa.
Exxon confirmed the move in comments to Energy Voice. It arrived in a yard in Denmark, which can “safely disassemble and recycle the vessel in an environmentally responsible manner”.
This, he said, was “the first of the package of measures that we have to respond to your resistance to return the ship to us”. Obiang described the 76-metre Blue Shadow as a military asset.
The company then self reported to the French authorities. The PNF investigation focused on the two West African states and then expanded into work in Angola.
As of January 1, 2024, LNG produced from the Alba field “will be sold into the global LNG market, which is expected to drive a significant financial uplift for our company given the material arbitrage between Henry Hub and global LNG pricing”.
“With higher production and lower capital, free cash flow is expected to rise into 2024 providing multiple pathways for the company to deliver value for our shareholders.”
Past drilling on the block has suggested there is potential, with an “extensive prospect inventory” within tie-back distance to Ceiba and the Okume complex.
Africa Oil said the block contains a number of gas-prone prospects in water depths of less than 80 metres. Crucially, it is close to existing infrastructure, including the Alba gas field and the Punta Europa LNG plant.
OPEC appointed Obiang Lima president for 2023. He is also the head of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF). For now, he continues to hold both those positions.
“Panoro is entering a phase of continual drilling activity which will see at least 10 wells being drilled in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea over the next 12 to 15 months and deliver a step-change in working interest production,” said company CEO John Hamilton.
“Production is not at the level we would like. We intend to own the asset and we need a new plan of development, which will take different things into consideration,” he said. Many wells need to undergo workovers, he said, in order to make it fit for the long term.
“Right now, we have close to 64 wells that need to be redrilled, and for this, we cannot find funds. A lot of infrastructure has been designed for a specific period and without funds, we are left with a lot of problems.”
Equatorial Guinea and Congo Kinshasa have signed an agreement to work together, including in the construction of a joint-owned refinery and a controversial licence round.
ExxonMobil is “working towards” decommissioning its Zafiro Producer unit, offshore Equatorial Guinea.
Equatorial Guinea has said it will send the Heroic Idun VLCC, and crew, to Nigeria, where they may stand trial for charges related to potential oil theft.