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With April’s presidential and parliamentary elections looming, and a range of contentious issues pointing to a tighter battle than yet seen in Nigeria’s short democratic history, incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan is still hoping to force through the controversial and much delayed Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) before the current parliamentary term ends in May.

BP and Kosmos Energy plan to acquire a 3D seismic survey over Block 13 in Q4. Kosmos told African Energy work was scheduled to begin in late November or early December. The survey will cover approximately 6,800km2.BP and Kosmos were awarded blocks 10 and 13 in São Tomé & Príncipe’s Exclusive Economic Zone in January 2018.

The National Petroleum Institute (INP) has received seven operator applications for blocks offered in Mozambique’s fifth licensing round, including companies already operating in the country such as Sasol and Eni, as well as newcomers like ExxonMobil and Delonex. The round, which offered 15 areas, was launched on 23 October 2014 and closed on 30 July. Onshore block PT5-B surrounding the Pande gas field received a bid from Shoreline Canoverseas Petroleum Development as operator, with Bluegreen Investments of the US and local consultancy Indico Dourado as partners. Shoreline Canoverseas is a partnership of Nigeria’s Shoreline Energy International and Canadian Overseas Petroleum.

Noble contracts drillship; Azurite completed; Saipem wins West Delta contract; Gabon pipeline contract; Seven Energy investment

Perth-based Tangiers Petroleum plans to list on London’s Alternative Investment Market in late November or early December as it seeks to line up partners for its offshore Morocco project. The Australian minnow believes its offshore Tarfaya Block has billion

Tullow Ghana has given FMC Technologies a $340m contract to supply subsea systems for the Tweneboa-Enyenra-Ntomme development. FMC will supply subsea trees, manifolds, tooling and associated subsea control systems. It has been operating in Ghana since 2008 and has recently completed the assembly and testing of the first Ghanaian-built subsea trees at its support base in Takoradi.

In order to give crude from planned new exploration blocks a route to market, Juba is looking to resuscitate longstanding plans to build another export pipeline, which would offer an alternative to the two existing routes via Sudan. The government is in “discussions with Kenya and Uganda”, petroleum minister Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth told African Energy in an interview. A link to Kenya is the preferred option.

MADAGASCAR: Shaanxi Yanchang joint venture; TANZANIA: Likonde drilling; NIGERIA: ONGC investmentl; AFREN: Nigeria discovery raises reserves estimates; OANDO: Rights issue

Seven of the 16 prequalified companies have submitted bids for the six blocks in Uganda’s first licensing round. The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development said in a statement the bidders were Australia’s Armour Energy and Swala Energy, Nigeria’s Waltersmith Petroman Oil, Oranto Petroleum International and Niger Delta Petroleum Resources, and Texas-based Rift Energy Corporation and Glint Energy.

The US’ Apache Corporation has made a small gas discovery with Kenya’s first offshore well since 2007, but Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi has been careful to discourage too much excitement.

Russia’s Lukoil Overseas has drilled a successful appraisal well on the Indépendance discovery on Block CI-401 in the Tano Basin. The well was drilled to a total depth of more than 4,500 metres in 1,600 metre water depths using Ocean Rig’s Eirik Raude semisubmersible rig. Lukoil said the well had proven oil presence in the Turonian sands of the oil and gas condensate field of the Indépendance structure discovered in December 2011. It said data from the well were being processed to evaluate the potential resource base and inform a decision on further field appraisal.

With agreements between the Nigerian government and oil majors reached a quarter of a century ago up for review and renegotiation, critical questions of joint venture funding are a major element of reforms that are sending shockwaves through the sector, write Eleanor Gillespie in Abuja and Leonard Lawal in Lagos.

Vaalco Energy’s first exploration well in Block 5 has found a water-bearing reservoir and will be plugged and abandoned. The Kindele-1 well was drilled to a total depth of 1,829 metres, targeting the Mucanzo sand formation in the Pinda Group section.“We are disappointed with the outcome of this first well drilled offshore Angola. The well targeted a three-way fault closure where the fault appears to have not provided the required lateral seal. The Mucanzo target sands were present and of a very high quality.

Total has announced a discovery offshore western Côte d’Ivoire with the Saphir-1XB well on Block CI-514, but said its 40 metres of net oil pay were distributed over a series of 350 metres of reservoirs. “Drilled in an abrupt margin play, this first well is the first discovery in the San Pedro Basin, a frontier exploration area in Ivory Coast,” said senior vice-president, exploration, Marc Blaizot. “Having confirmed the presence of a petroleum system containing light oil, we will next evaluate this very promising find and focus on its extension to the north and east.”

Canadian-listed Mart Resources has entered into an arrangement agreement under which it will be acquired by Saudi-owned Delta Oil Nigeria for C$124.92m ($94.6m). At closing, Mart is expected to have approximately $200.5m of outstanding bank debt. Mart’s main asset is the producing Umusadege field in Delta State, where it has a participation agreement with operator Midwestern Oil & Gas and its partner Suntrust Oil and provides technical and financial services.