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Golar LNG has said upstream operator Perenco is planning for a drilling campaign in the Kribi area to prove up more reserves during 2020. If successful, this could lead to further capacity utilisation and/or contract extension for the FLNG Hilli Episeyo, Golar said in its Q3 results.

President Ernest Bai Koroma is seeking another term in November’s elections in the face of fierce opposition from the Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP), whose candidate is the former military leader Julius Maada Bio. The SLPP has said it will re-examine and possibly renegotiate all oil and mining contracts if it is elected

Heritage Oil has won the battle for Shell’s producing OML 30 in an $850m deal that will significantly boost production and reserves. Heritage has set up a joint venture called Shoreline Natural Resources with local partner Shoreline Power Company to acquire 45% in the block from Shell Petroleum Development Company, Total E&P Nigeria and Nigerian Agip Oil Company.

Sintez Group affiliate Nakor Investments, the main equity holder in Block 1711 in the Namibe Basin bordering Angola, has relinquished most of its 70% stake. Interim operator Energulf Resources said the Russian company would retain a 10% carried interest. Energulf, which holds a 10% working interest, will receive an additional

Gabon is hoping to tap its pre-salt potential with its tenth licensing round due to open on 4 May offering 42 deepwater blocks (AE 162/1). The round has been expected for some time but has been delayed by political developments.

Azonto Petroleum has agreed to sell its 35% stake in Vioco Petroleum to joint-venture partner Vitol, which holds the other 65 percent. Faced with delays and cost increases to the planned Gazelle gas field development, Azonto said it had concluded that a sale was the best way to realise value from its stake in Block CI-202. It said selling up now saved it from committing to a work programme that it could not finance, and that it could potentially consider alternative asset acquisitions.

Tullow is structuring its Uganda farm-down to give each of the partners operatorship in one of the three blocks, in a bid to make development of the Lake Albert Basin less of a one-man show, writes Thalia Griffiths

UK private company Wessex Exploration plans to list on London’s PLUS market by 1 September. The PLUS market is proving popular with minnow oil companies looking to raise funds – the UK-based Africa Oil Exploration Plc listed in January 2008 raising £1.03m (AE 142/16).

Ophir Energy said on 9 July that it has awarded upstream front-end engineering and design (FEED) contracts for the Fortuna floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) project in Block R to two contractor consortia. The company says it is considering a second FLNG vessel on the development, while still looking to bring in a farm-in partner before its planned final investment decision (FID) in mid-2016.The upstream FEED contract, awarded to McDermott Marine Construction Ltd with GE Oil & Gas UK Ltd, and Subsea 7 with Aker Solutions, will be a competitive process, with the scope of work including subsea development design.

Royal Dutch Shell has acquired blocks 2913A and 2914B in the Orange Basin from Signet Petroleum, which is 42% owned by AIM-listed Polo Resources. Shell has bought Signet’s 90% interest in the blocks, with National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia retaining its 10% carried interest. The acreage borders Shell’s Orange Basin Deep Water Block off the west coast of South Africa, where the company acquired 8,500km2 of 3D seismic last year and is looking for a farm-in partner. Signet announced on 12 February that it had concluded a transaction for the sale of its interests “to a major international oil company in a confidential transaction”.

Edinburgh-based Cairn Energy says it is assessing tender responses for the floating production, storage and offloading facility and subsea infrastructure for the SNE oil development ahead of front-end engineering design work planned for Q4 2018.Announcing its half-year results on 11 September, Cairn said submission and approval of a development and exploitation plan was targeted for H2 2018, with a final investment decision to follow in 2019.

Under pressure to raise finance to meet its Kenyan commitments, Lion Petroleum has agreed to merge with Canadian company Taipan Resources. Taipan has agreed to provide Lion with bank guarantees to fund its work programme on blocks 1 and 2B, and Lion shareholders will receive Taipan shares

On 13 June, Tullow announced it had opened its offer for 4m shares to be listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) at an offer price of 31 cedis ($20)/share (AE 210/19).

Presidential advisor Rilwanu Lukman used CWC Associates' Nigeria Oil & Gas Conference 2008 to set out his stall for the reforms the Yar'Adua administration is piloting through the political system - while not revealing all the goodies he is trying to sell Nigeria and the global industry, as outlined in the draft programme seen by African Energy and reported in.

Despite a continuing stand-off over the sharing of oil facilities and future of oil-producing blocks along the border, the Government of Southern Sudan is pressing ahead with plans to develop its oil sector. South Sudan’s oil sector is both the most critical and the most contentious element of its economic future. According to BP’s latest statistical review of world energy, Sudan produced an average 490,000 b/d in 2009, and at year-end had proven reserves of 6.7bn bbls. An estimated 75% of known oil reserves are in South Sudan,