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There is now hope for economic and military stability in both countries, but ongoing disputes over border issues and the status of Sudapet could still thwart co-operation, writes Hugh Boylan.

The late October Algeria Future Energy Summit, held in Algiers, provided the platform for Sonatrach chairman and chief executive (PDG) Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour to register his control over the hydrocarbons sector and the national company’s closer relations with international oil companies (IOCs) – and notably with European giants, several of whom have been discouraged by Algiers’ stingy terms and faltering policy implementation over the past decade. Ould Kaddour signalled returning confidence in Algeria’s hydrocarbons sector by signing eye-catching upstream agreements, including a deal that could push ahead controversial shale development plans and offshore exploration.

A series of petty disputes involving tribes and militias in western Libya have threatened National Oil Corporation (NOC)’s ambitions to maintain or even increase oil output, which peaked at 1.1m b/d in early August. The challenge facing chairman Mustafa Sanalla is that armed groups who have carried out blockades and actions against oil and gas facilities in recent months are outside the control of any single authority.

Kenya has selected Wood Plc to carry out design work for an oil export pipeline from the South Lokichar Basin. Reuters quoted Andrew Kamau, principal secretary at the Petroleum and Mining Ministry, as saying the work would take eight months. The government invited engineering design bids in January for the $2bn pipeline project.

Tullow Oil’s operations in Kenya’s Turkana County continue to be affected by worker unrest. On 10 October, Kenyan media reported that the company was facing limited industrial protests at its Ekosowan well on Block 10BB, although Tullow announced two days later that the issue had been resolved. Turkana County governor Josephat Nanok told African Energy the dispute was caused when oil services provider Ardan Logistics Kenya laid off several workers at the site. “The dispute was regarding contractor Ardan’s staff.

Ophir Energy spudded the first well in its 2012 Block R drilling programme on 2 July.

AGR Well Services is marking its 40th well in Africa, with the late October spudding of a well on offshore Block 2 for US independent Hunt Oil. Hunt signed a new exploration permit for the 1095km2 block in 2013 alongside previous operator Archean Benin Energy, a subsidiary of Century International Oil & Gas Corporation, and Société Beninoise des Hydrocarbures. The permit has an initial period of three years, renewable for one year. The drilling contract, awarded to AGR in July, is for one firm well, plus one future option well.

Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to pay $15.5m to the Ogoni people to settle a long-running court case brought in the United States under the Alien Tort Claims Act.

Although the development of deep water and gas has not been forthcoming in recent years due to the continued hold-up of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and its proposed new fiscal regime, two majors have announced big investments, with Total planning the development of the offshore Egina field at a cost of some $15bn, and Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) taking final investment decisions on the Trans Niger Pipeline Loop-line (TNPL) and the Gbaran-Ubie Phase Two project at a combined cost of $3.9bn.

The government has published a detailed oilfield development programme which shows how it intends to deploy the LD12bn-worth of investment it announced in September to increase output from 1.7m b/d to more than 2.3m b/d by 2013 (AE 170/3).

Tullow Oil on 18 August announced first oil at its $4bn TEN project, which will produce oil and gas from the Tweneboa, Enyenra and Ntomme fields to the west of the Jubilee field. Tullow said TEN will increase overall net production by 60%, significantly improving the company’s ability to manage its debt. Income from production at the Jubilee field has been hit by a number of factors including technical problems with the floating production storage and offloading vessel (FPSO), which led to an extended shutdown in April, and the lower oil price.

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Tullow Kenya has given Wood and WorleyParsons front-end engineering design (FEED) contracts for the initial phase of the Lokichar to Lamu crude oil pipeline project. Wood will provide the first phase of FEED services for the pipeline, setting the technical requirements and estimating the installed cost, while WorleyParsons will carry out FEED for the central processing facility. The government invited engineering design bids in January for the $2bn pipeline project.

Tullow Oil said on 19 November it agreed to issue 224,955 ordinary shares to Petrolin Trading Limited to settle a $5m debt of its subsidiary, Tullow Gabon Limited. Tullow Gabon had agreed to pay Petrolin the amount in exchange for the termination of agreements giving Petrolin the right to market part of Tullow’s West Africa crude oil production.

London Stock Exchange and Irish Stock Exchange-listed Aminex plc has reached agreement with East African Exploration Ltd (EAX) to increase its interest in the Nyuni production-sharing agreement and the 40m ft3/d gas discovery at Kiliwani North by 10%.