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Kosmos Energy has taken two more blocks in São Tomé and Príncipe’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), in a farm-in agreement with Equator Exploration. Equator, 81.5% owned by Toronto-listed Oando Energy Resources, has farmed out 65% operated stakes in blocks 5 and 12 to Kosmos, which licensed EEZ blocks 6 and 11 late last year (AE 311/1). Equator signed the production-sharing contract (PSC) for Block 12 in February with São Tomé’s National Petroleum Agency (ANP-STP). The PSC for Block 5 was signed in April 2012 and a 1480km2 3D seismic survey was acquired in April 2015.

Camac Energy has changed its name to Erin Energy and agreed a $200m prepayment facility with Glencore Energy to finance its Oyo field development. The name change followed a reverse stock split in April. The company announced on 26 May that it had agreed heads of terms with Glencore on an offtake agreement with an embedded prepayment element. The offtake contract would allow Glencore to lift Oyo crude from the Armada Perdana floating production, storage and offloading vessel for a minimum of two years.

Repsol has suspended drilling of the Welwitschia-1A well in the Walvis Basin following a series of technical problems. Partner Tower Resources said on 27 May it expected drilling to resume in the first week of June and to be completed within budget. The well spudded on 23 April using the Rowan Renaissance drillship. Following installation of the 36-inch casing, it was observed that the pressurised wellhead housing had slumped. The partners decided to plug and abandon the original well and re-spud 50 metres away. Drilling resumed at the new site on 1 May, but was further delayed by a fault in the blow-out preventer (BOP) control system, which Tower said it expected to be resolved shortly.

Among the larger Saudi-controlled companies active in the African resources boom is Stockholm-based Svenska Petroleum, which belongs to Saudi/Ethiopian magnate Mohammed Hussein Al-Amoudi – one of that group of Saudi businessmen born into non-Saudi or marginal communities who have emerged as very significant players, usually by being linked to senior Saudi princes as ‘men of business’ during part, at least, of their careers.

Ultra-deep find for BP, deep discovery for Eni; Roc drilling; NW Gemsa well hits oil, gas; Lundin PSC farm-out; MPDC seeks partners, New Maurel & Prom find; Petronas signs for two Rovuma Basin blocks

In a 9 May filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Kosmos Energy has given details of a dispute over development plans for the Mahogany area of the West Cape Three Points (WCTP) Block. The Mahogany area, covering parts of the Mahogany East discovery and the Mahogany Deep discovery, was declared commercial in September 2010, and a plan of development (PoD) was submitted to the Ministry of Energy in May 2011.

Australia’s Elixir Petroleum has taken over operatorship of 8 Investments’ Block SL-4 and has begun a 3D seismic acquisition programme.

Gabon has launched a licensing round to be governed by a revised petroleum code currently under preparation. Oil minister Pascal Houangni Ambouroue told the Africa Oil Week conference in Cape Town on 7 November the round would offer 12 blocks in shallow water and 23 blocks in deep water. Bids are due by 22 April.Roadshows will be held on 5 January in Houston, on 15 January in London and on 19 February in Singapore, and the round will also be promoted at the African Petroleum Producers Organisation Cape VII conference in Malabo on 1-5 April.

The interim government has signed a production-sharing contract for Block 6 in the Taoudeni Basin with a company called Corvus Resources Management Ltd. Corvus is registered in the Cayman Islands and its corporate record, obtained by African Energy, gives no information on directors, revealing only that the company was formed on 28 August 2012. A cabinet statement said that Corvus had agreed to a work programme for the first four years of the contract to include exploration activity and drilling one well, for a total cost of $35m.

ANGOLA: Pipelines contract for LNG plant; ANGOLA: Technip to expand Angoflex; GHANA/CAMEROON: USTDA study; MADAGASCAR: Enermad farms out to Niko Resources; MOROCCO: Canamens takes Essaouira blocks; NAMIBIA: Key pulls out; SIERRA LEONE: Elixir takes over after Prontinal fails to pay; UGANDA: Tower farms out Area 5; UGANDA: Heritage spuds Giraffe

Nigeria’s female ministers have proved themselves a tough and often talented bunch, but new petroleum minister Diezani Allison-Madueke faces a difficult challenge to finalise the Petroleum Industry Bill, which her predecessor, the law’s key architect Rilwanu Lukman,

Statoil and Exxon Mobil announced a gas discovery on 14 October with the Giligiliani-1 exploration well on Block 2. Operator Statoil said the discovery of an additional 1.2tcf of natural gas in place in the well brought total in-place volumes up to approximately 21tcf in the block. The discovery was made in Upper Cretaceous sandstones along the western side of Block 2 at a 2,500-metre water depth. “This discovery has proven the gas play extends into the western part of Block 2, which opens additional prospects.

While minister of mines and hydrocarbons Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima is clearly in a hurry to bring more oil and gas resources into production and to raise the profile of his country within the global hydrocarbons industry, he is also holding out for the best deals he can get. Market speculation is focused on a prospective deal for London-based independent Trident Energy – which is led by former Perenco executives and describes itself as an expert in reviving mid-life oil and gas assets – to take over ExxonMobil’s Zafiro oil and gas field, which started production in 1996.

ExxonMobil plans to spud the Mesurado-1 well on Block LB-13 in late 2016 or early 2017, according to the 2016 work programme sent to block partner Canadian Overseas Petroleum (COP). The well, to be drilled in the second exploration phase of the contract, aims to prove a commercial quantity of hydrocarbons in the Cretaceous Santonian age reservoirs, and to provide calibration for the seismic response, which can be used to evaluate other leads on the block.

GHANA: Tullow contracts new rig; NAMIBIA: HRT licence extension; SAO TOME: Oranto completes PSC for EEZ Block 3