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Senior officials and some notable international investors are optimistic that Egypt’s upstream sector is back on track, but this does not mean that some casualties have not been left by the wayside. The announcement of a new licensing round and the prospect of others later this year is the latest indication of the opportunities now on offer. Field developments are under way on and offshore, but Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) has not paid back arrears owed to international oil companies (IOCs) as quickly as it said it would, and a number of IOCs have suffered because of this.

The authorities in charge of Libya’s oil and gas sector are contemplating a radical shift to private financing of major upstream and downstream developments to get around budget constraints which are putting many essential projects out of reach. Under the former regime of late leader Muammar Qadhafi, the idea of using domestic or international finance to back National Oil Corporation (NOC) projects was unthinkable. Even now, the idea may be opposed by newly formed trade unions or armed groups representing local interests who continue to promote themselves under the banner of ‘revolutionary’ forces. However, a well-attended two-day seminar on sources and methods of financing and prospects for investment in the oil and gas sector, held by NOC in Tripoli on 14-15 May, showed the corporation was serious about bringing in outside money.

New group managing director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Andrew Laah Yakubu was the choice of his sacked predecessor Austen Oniwon. Oniwon is close to petroleum minister Diezani Alison-Madueke, and appears to have been sacrificed to take the heat off Madueke and other senior officials who might otherwise carry the can for the fuel subsidy scandal.

Tullow Oil has announced that the Tweneboa-3 appraisal well in the Deepwater Tano licence encountered gas condensate in high-quality sandstone reservoirs, confirming the Greater Tweneboa Area resource base potential.

Victoria Oil & Gas (VOG) says it has hit around 27 metres of gross sandstone pay at a depth of 1,839 metres during the drilling of the La-105 well at its Logbaba gas and condensate project in Douala.

Simba Energy says production-sharing contracts (PSCs) for its three blocks have been approved by the government, but National Assembly approval is still needed before operations can begin.

The National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANPG) has announced the start-up of the Nsinga oilfield on Block 0, offshore Cabinda province. The field, operated by Chevron’s Cabinda Gulf Oil Company Limited, is the first oil field in the Block 0 concession to start production following the approval of Presidential Legislative Decree No 6/18,of May 2018, which governs incentives for the development of marginal fields, ANPG said.

The National Assembly has ratified production-sharing contracts (PSCs) awarding six blocks to four companies. Blocks A, B and C, have been awarded to Discover Exploration and Bahari Resources, while blocks D, E and F have been licensed to the US’ Western Energy Production and Jersey-registered Safari Petroleum. Discover and Bahari signed a PSC in March 2013 following the ratification by the Indian Ocean islands’ parliament in December 2012 of a new Petroleum Code aimed at bringing the country’s legislation in line with international standards.

The government has published its long-awaited hydrocarbons law N° 15/012, setting out a simpler legal framework for the upstream oil and gas sector. No new licences have been awarded since 2010 while the new law was being drafted, and the process has been held up by disagreement between the national assembly and the senate. Under the new law, published on 1 August, exploration contracts are to be awarded through a tender process on the basis of technical and financial criteria established by the cabinet.

The dynamics of the power struggle in Libya are changing fast, with the arrival of Donald Trump in the White House in January expected to give extra credibility to the resurgent Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, and to further undermine the already failing Government of National Accord (GNA). However, converting Haftar’s precarious Cyrenaican tribal alliance, which also includes influential elements from the former regime and Salafists, into a national movement capable of extending its rule over Fezzan and Tripolitania presents vast challenges.

Eni has started production from the East Hub development project in Block 15/06. Oil from nine wells on the Cabaça South East field is being produced to the Armada Olombendo floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, with capacity of 80,000 b/d of oil and 3.4mcf/d of gas.East Hub will add to production from the existing West Hub Project in the Sangos, Cinguvu and Mpungi fields, where another vessel, the FPSO N’Goma, is operating (AE 291/15). In total, Block 15/06 will reach peak output of 150,000 b/d of oil this year.

Deep-water drilling contractor Seadrill Partners said on 3 October it plans to contest a force majeure notice received from Tullow Ghana for a drilling contract for the West Leo rig. The ultra-deep-water semisubmersible has most recently been in use on the TEN development project, which started up in August 2016. Further drilling on TEN has been suspended until the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea rules in a dispute over the maritime border, expected late next year and Tullow and partners have not yet received approval for the Greater Jubilee full field development plan, so further drilling is not currently possible.

Tullow Oil has exercised its pre-emption right over Heritage Oil’s stakes in blocks 1 and 3A in Lake Albert, blocking their sale to Eni, which announced an agreement with Heritage last year.

Ophir Energy has formed another strategic alliance in the run-up to its planned share flotation by securing a farm-in from Petrobras to the offshore Mbeli and Ntsina blocks

Acutely aware that it needs to show that a majority of Ghanaians will enjoy long-term benefits from oil, the government is looking to stipulate local content provisions in its new industry.