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ANGOLA: New find on Block 15/06; EGYPT: Mitsui buys in; GABON: Perenco workover raises output; MOROCCO: Exploration progress; NIGERIA/SAO TOME: Total Takes Chevron’s Block 1 stake; NIGERIA: Drilling success for Sinopec; TUNISIA: AfDB funds for Etap; UGANDA: Butiaba appraisal success

The government has given conditional approval for the sale of Heritage Oil Corporation’s assets to Tullow Oil, paving the way for development of the Albertine Graben’s oil resources, while Tullow Uganda has also received approval for its subsequent farm-down of 33% stakes to CNOOC and Total.

With production still some way off, Uganda’s oil exploration success has lost some of its lustre as the government continues to delay approval of a deal between Heritage and Tullow that would pave the way for a $10bn development project.

Dominion Petroleum has spudded the Ngaji-1 wildcat, planned to drill to a total depth of 2,000 metres in the Lake Edward Basin

The Ugandan government is carrying out a study to determine the best size for a planned refinery to process crude from Lake Albert. The study, due for completion in the next month or so, will consider the regional market, and the type and size of refinery that would make commercial and economic sense.

As the rate of new discoveries in West Africa slows, the pace is picking up in East Africa, where hopes are high that Uganda’s remarkable success can be replicated elsewhere. Smaller players are seeing a bigger upside in entering frontier regions rather than in adding incremental production in West Africa’s established oil provinces.

Tullow Oil has been appraising the Kasamene field on Uganda’s Block 2 ahead of first oil planned in Q4 2011. Tullow exploration manager Robin Sutherland told Global Pacific & Partners’ African Petroleum Forum in London on 13 April that, despite the logistical problems, Tullow was keen to bring a rig in to drill in Lake Albert, and would bring in the parts to build an offshore

ALGERIA: Sonatrach makes two Illizi finds; ALGERIA: Petroceltic raises $120m in share placing; ANGOLA: Sinopec buys overseas upstream assets; EGYPT: Aegean Energy widens horizons; NAMIBIA: Block 1711 extension; NIGER: CNPC to drill again; TUNISIA: Two new licences for Shell; UGANDA: Dominion to drill in June

Dominion Petroleum says it has secured a rig to drill the first well in the Lake Edward Basin of the Albertine Rift. Dominion Uganda has signed a letter of intent with Oil and Gas Exploration Cracow (OGEC), subject to government approval, for a rig to drill Ngaji-1 on Block 4B. The rig is expected to be mobilised in May, with drilling to start in June on the Ngaji (silverback gorilla) prospect. Success will lead to a rapid expansion of exploration and appraisal activity in EA4B and potentially the neighbouring Block 5 in Democratic Republic of Congo (Dominion 46.75%).

Tullow Oil has indicated it could bring in more partners to develop the planned pipeline and refinery components of its Ugandan oil project.

Tower Resources subsidiary Neptune Petroleum has plugged and abandoned a second well, Avivi-1, on its Block 5 at the northern end of the Albertine Graben, and is debating whether to enter the third exploration period.

Oil sector financiers are anticipating another busy year, led by the need for new money in the hydrocarbons sectors in East and West Africa, writes Kevin Godier

The latest political settlement looks promising but Guinea is still not plain sailing for Hyperdynamics, which has yet to finalise its farm-in deal with Repsol

The discreet but intense battle between Tullow and Eni over the sale of Heritage Oil’s Uganda acreage, and investigations and mud-slinging around Ghana’s Jubilee field show how politics can severely complicate the oil industry’s approach to new frontiers, write Thalia Griffiths, Our Accra Correspondent and Jon Marks

Tullow’s pre-emption of Heritage’s deal to sell its Ugandan holdings to Italy’s Eni is far from a done deal, even though Tullow was comfortably able to raise £925m ($1.5bn) in a share placing on 27 January. Tullow wants to buy the stakes and bring in a partner of its choosing so that it can follow a development strategy for the entire basin. “The board ofTullow has concluded that it is in the interests of shareholders for Tullow to pre-empt the sale of HOGL’s Ugandan assets and bring in a partner to deliver a unified basinwide development plan which will be significantly value accretive to all stakeholders as a result of accelerated and materially higher production,”Tullow said.