Companies: Petroceltic, Jee, SOCO, EGPC, Citadel Capital, Hess, AIM,Tangiers Petroleum, Circle Oil, TVI Pacific, Candax, El Bibane

Algeria’s council of ministers has approved the sale of an 18.375% interest in the Isarene production-sharing contract (PSC) to Enel Trade SpA (Enel); Doris Engineering has given UK-based Jee a contract for specialist subsea and riser engineering for the deep-water Kaombo pipeline system on Total’s Block 32; Operator SOCO International has encountered non-commercial hydrocarbons in the Makouala Marine-1 exploration well on the Marine XIV licence; Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) has extended the deadline for its licensing round to 29 March; Golden Crescent Investments, a Citadel Capital opportunity-specific fund, has agreed to sell its interest in National Petroleum Company Egypt Limited (NPC Egypt) to Canada’s Sea Dragon Energy; Hess has issued a letter of award to Seadrill to enter into an eight-well drilling contract for the semi-tender rig West Esperanza; Australia’s Tangiers Petroleum plans to list on London’s Alternative Investment Market on 3 February and has begun a 677km2 3D seismic acquisition programme in its offshore Tarfaya Block; Circle Oil has completed the construction phase of the new Sebou-Kenitra 8-inch pipeline; TVI Pacific has opted not to take part in the second exploration phase for the Tenere Block with China National Petroleum Corporation; PA Resources has sold its stakes in the Ezzaouia and El Bibane oil-producing fields to Candax Energy for $4m