Search results

Hyperdynamics has completed the acquisition of 10,000km of 2D seismic over its offshore exploration acreage.

Eni on 20 July announced a gas discovery on the Nooros exploration prospect in the Abu Madi West licence in the Nile Delta. The Italian company said the Nidoco NW2 Dir NFW well was drilled to a total depth of 3,600 metres and encountered a 60-metre gas-bearing sandstone interval of Messianian age. The discovery is estimated to contain 15bcm of gas in place, with associated condensates. The new discovery will be put into production in two months’ time through a tie-in to the Abu Madi gas treatment plant, 25km to the south-east.

Tullow Oil and Dana Petroleum have reached a settlement with Hyperdynamics subsidiary SCS Corporation in their dispute over drilling plans. The two companies have pulled out of the production-sharing contract (PSC), and transferred their interest in the long-lead items purchased by the consortium in preparation for the drilling of the Fatala well. Hyperdynamics has agreed a one-year extension to the PSC covering a smaller area, with a commitment to drill a well next year. In January 2016, Hyperdynamics took legal action against Tullow and Dana, saying they had failed to meet their obligations under the joint operating agreement and the PSC which required a well to be drilled by September 2016.

Norwegian activities in African upstream

Seychelles Petroleum Company (Seypec) has invested A$2.08m ($2.2m) in Australia’s WHL Energy, which recently acquired exploration acreage in the archipelago.

AIM-listed Madagascar Oil has resolved outstanding issues with the government over exploration blocks 3105, 3106 and 3107

London-based Panoro Energy signed a sale and purchase agreement on 28 June for the acquisition of DNO Tunisia from Norway’s DNO ASA, while Petrofac announced the sale of its 45% interest in the Chergui licence to Perenco. Panoro will acquire an 87.5% interest and the operatorship of the Sfax Offshore Exploration Permit and Ras El Besh Concession, and a 46% stake in the Hammamet Offshore Exploration Permit operated by Medco. No cash will change hands up front; Oslo-listed Panoro concurrently raised $8.3m via a private share placement.

Rakgas has given Bell Geospace a contract to acquire just under 15,000 line km of airborne survey data in Zanzibar. The contract includes the acquisition of 3D full-tensor gradiometry (FTG) data as well as processing and interpretative services. Flights started on 14 March from Abeid Karume international airport in Zanzibar. Rakgas operates the Pemba Zanzibar Block, which surrounds the island

Tower Resources has given DMT Petrologic a contract to reprocess the 3D seismic data over and around the Thali licence in the Rio del Rey Basin. The contract, awarded following a competitive tender, involves merging and reprocessing data from five existing surveys to cover an area of approximately 500km2, including the entire Thali Block and the surrounding area, covering three discovery wells on the block itself and additional key wells to provide further data control.

Cairn Energy has announced that Sir Bill Gammell will retire as non-executive chairman at the annual general meeting on 15 May. He will be succeeded by Ian Tyler, who joined the board as a non-executive director in June 2013. Tyler was chief executive of Balfour Beatty from 2005 until March 2013, and holds a number of other non-executive positions including non-executive chairman of Al Noor Hospitals Group and Bovis Homes Group, and non-executive director of Cable & Wireless Communications and BAE Systems.

Total has pulled out of the Eni-operated offshore Block 15/06, selling its 15% stake to Sonangol E&P for $750m. “The sale of our interest in Block 15/06 is in line with Total’s global strategy to actively manage its portfolio and focus its investment capability on core assets in which it has more material interests, such as Block 17 with the CLOV project currently under development and the future development of Kaombo on Block 32 in Angola,” said senior vice-president Africa Total Exploration and Production Jacques Marraud des Grottes.

AIM-listed Tower Resources signed a production-sharing contract (PSC) on 15 September for the shallow-water Thali Block in the Rio del Rey Basin. Tower has a 100% interest in the block, which was formerly known as Dissoni and licensed to Total and Pecten. The work programme for the initial exploration period of three years calls for geological and geophysical studies, 100km2 of 3D seismic acquisition and a commitment well with a minimum financial commitment of $13m. Two optional renewal periods of two years will each require an exploration or appraisal well with a minimum $5m commitment.

Libya will allow UK-based supermajor BP to go ahead with its planned deep-water offshore drilling which it plans to begin this July, despite questions which have been raised about the safety of the technology

Victoria Oil & Gas (VOG) plans to bring the first of its two new wells on production by the end of September, and is planning to explore for more gas in a much larger area of the Douala Basin acquired from Glencore and Bowleven.VOG produced 14.6mcf/d in Q2, which was sold in Douala within a price range of $9-$16/mBtu. Chairman Kevin Foo told the Oil Capital conference in London on 5 September the company was targeting production of 100mcf/d by 2021, compared to Douala region gas demand of more than 150mcf/d.

The Ministry of Energy has granted Tap Oil a 12-month extension of the initial exploration period under the petroleum agreement for the Offshore Accra contract area, allowing extra time to drill a well.