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Australian explorer Far’s Samo-1 well on Block A2 has failed to find commercial hydrocarbons. Far said the well was drilled to 3,240 metres and had oil shows at several levels but the main target horizons were water-bearing. The Australian company had talked up the well’s potential ahead of drilling, describing it as on trend with the SNE field in Senegalese waters to the north.

Circle Oil has announced a light oil discovery with the El Mediouni-1 (EMD-1) exploration well on the Mahdia permit. EMD-1 was drilled in the north-central area of the permit in a water depth of 240 metres, 120km east of Sousse. The well was spudded on 8 June and drilled to a depth of 1,200 metres MD in the Upper Ketatna carbonates. The company said “very good light oil shows” were encountered in the main Lower Birsa carbonate target and the secondary Upper Ketatna carbonates target over a combined interval of 133 metres. Circle estimates recoverable resources at 100m barrels, but hole conditions deteriorated rapidly and Circle was unable to log the well.

Sterling Energy has opted to withdraw from offshore Block C-3, assigning its 40.5% stake to Tullow Oil at no cost. The company, which farmed into the block in February 2015, said the 2D seismic data had “not sufficiently derisked the block potential” to justify entering the next exploration phase, which involves 700km2 of 3D seismic and a well, but it remained committed to the adjacent Block C-10, where it farmed in in June. A well is planned on C-10 in 2017.

Efforts are being made to improve maritime security along the Puntland coast

ConocoPhillips has had another disappointment in the Kwanza Basin with the Omosi-1 well on Block 37. The company said the well had been drilled to 6,300 metres total depth and had encountered a 160 metre gas column. No further activity is planned, and the well has been plugged and abandoned. After Cobalt’s big Cameia discovery on Block 21 in February 2012 and Maersk’s smaller 2011 Azul find on Block 23, there were high hopes for the Kwanza Basin. Angola had hoped the pre-salt play would deliver the same success as on the other side of the Atlantic, but it has not been an unqualified success.

Energy and Mines Minister Chakib Khelil has considerably added to the complexity of the planned licensing round, to be run for the first time by regulator Agence Nationale pour la Valorisation des Ressources en Hydrocarbures (Alnaft), by announcing via a Financial Times interview that for some blocks at least bidders will be required to “swap assets” to gain access to attractive acreage (AE 131/17).

The government paid another $600m of arrears to oil companies in August, bringing its debt down to $2.9bn. Petroleum minister Sherif Ismail told Reuters that Egypt aimed to reduce the arrears to $2.5bn by year-end. Egypt received a significant boost on 30 August when Eni announced a huge gas discovery on the Shorouk licence. Eni said the block had estimated reserves of 30tcf in the Miocene interval, which could increase further once the deeper Cretaceous is explored.

AFREN: Share placing; CAITHNESS PETROLEUM: Cabre takes new Moroccan block; CAMAC/PACIFIC ASIA: Long-term relationship starts with stake in Nigeria’s Oyo field; Hydrocarbons measurements

After East Africa’s offshore gas finds hit the headlines, results from onshore drilling in Puntland and Kenya could further boost expectations in a variety of unproven plays stretching from Djibouti to Zambia. Markets are eager for news, but seasoned geologists are urging caution

Concerns over Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC)’s mounting debts to international oil companies and uncertainty over the hydrocarbons sector’s long-term political management have not dissuaded bidders from signing up new exploration concessions. The Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (Egas) bid round announced in June has been put back by four months, but EGPC has finally announced the result of its bid round launched in October 2011.

National Oil Corporation (NOC) has been obliged to reduce oil output by as much as 15% owing to the combined effects of accidents and routine maintenance.

Jacka Resources’ arrival as Somaliland’s first new IOC entrant in four years reflects renewed interest in the region’s geology, which could be further spurred by drill-bit success in neighbouring Puntland

African Petroleum has raised $3.1m in a private placement on the Oslo Axess junior market.The placement raised NOK26,675,000 in gross proceeds through the allocation of 10,670,000 shares at a subscription price of NOK2.50/share.African Petroleum chief executive Jens Pace said the proceeds would be used to strengthen the company’s balance sheet and liquidity position while it works towards completing farm-out transactions:“The proceeds will also help us prepare for the exciting and approaching spudding of the exploration well with Ophir Energy in Q2 2017 on the CI-513 Block in Côte d’Ivoire.

Mineral Resources minister Gwede Mantashe published a notice on 28 June suspending the granting of new oil and gas licences until a new invitation for applications is announced. “This restriction shall not affect the processing of applications for reconnaissance permits, technical cooperation permits, exploration and production rights received before the date of publication,” the notice said.

Tullow Oil has farmed into Pancontinental’s EL 0037 in the Walvis Basin, taking 65%. The block is immediately north of HRT’s licence, where the Wingat well was drilled earlier this year (AE 255/12). Wingat was non-commercial, but samples of light oil were recovered. Industry sources said the well had proved that the oil system in the Walvis Basin was working, but had tested the wrong reservoir interval. HRT said Wingat had identified two well-developed source rocks, both within the oil-generating window, and collected four samples from thin-bedded sandy reservoirs saturated by oil.