Page 8 - AfrOil Week 04 2021

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FAR said in a statement last week that its share- This is not the first time Woodside has
holders were due to consider granting final blocked the sale of a minority interest in RSSD. It
approval to the SPA at a meeting on February also opted to pre-empt when Cairn Energy (UK)
18. It also reported that it intended to “pro- announced plans to sell its stake in the venture to
vide shareholders with further information in Lukoil (Russia) last year.
advance of that meeting,” in light of the takeover The Sangomar licence area includes three
bid it received late last year from Remus Hori- separate fields. These fields – Rufisque, Sango-
zons, a private investment fund. mar Offshore and Sangomar Deep Offshore
In December, Remus Horizons said it was – give the RSSD joint venture its name. Oil
willing to pay AUD209.6mn ($162.33mn) for was discovered at the block in 2014, and RSSD
100% of equity in FAR. It also stated, though, has estimated its recoverable reserves amount
that its offer was contingent on the RSSD stake to 645mn barrels of oil equivalent, including
remaining in that company’s portfolio of assets. 485mn barrels of crude oil and 160mn boe of
(FAR, for its point, reiterated last week that the natural gas. Production is slated to begin in
offer was non-binding.) 2023. ™

Martins: Sonangol will keep Galp stake

ANGOLA SEBASTIÃO Gaspar Martins, the CEO of She is suspected of using her position at the
Angola’s national oil company (NOC) Sonangol, NOC to enrich herself and has been formally
has said that his company does not intend to sell accused by the Angolan government of mis-
its stake in Portugal’s Galp Energia. management and misappropriation of funds.
In an interview with the Portuguese daily Martins said in December that Sonangol con-
Diário de Notícias, Martins said that Sonangol’s sidered itself to be a “potentially injured party”
33.34% stake in Galp had not been included with respect to these allegations, but dos Santos
in the government’s privatisation programme, has denied any wrongdoing.
known as ProPriv. He stated that the firm Under the ProPriv initiative, Sonangol has
intended to keep this asset, which he described been ordered to divest 70 non-core assets by the
as “strategic.” end of 2022. The NOC is also slated for partial
The CEO did not give a reason for the Galp privatisation, and Angolan Finance Minister
stake’s exclusion from ProPriv. He has said Vera Daves de Sousa has said that Luanda hopes
repeatedly that the NOC will not sell this asset. to list some of the NOC’s shares before the mid-
Sonangol controls this asset through a com- dle of next year. ™
plicated arrangement involving Amorim Ener-
gia, a subsidiary of the Amorim Group, which
is the world’s leading cork producer. (The group
also owns 19% in Banco Comercial Português, a
Portuguese financial institution known as Mil-
lenium bcp.)
Equity in Amorim Energia is split 55% to
Américo Amorim, the current head of the
Amorim Group, and 45% to an offshore hold-
ing known as Esperanza. This holding is owned
jointly by Sonangol and Isabel dos Santos, Afri-
ca’s richest woman and the daughter of Angola’s
former president, José Eduardo dos Santos.
Isabel dos Santos served as chairwoman of
Sonangol until 2017, when her father left office. Sonangol CEO Sebastião Gaspar Martins (Photo: Jornal de Negocios)

BW Energy increases stake in Kudu

NAMIBIA BW Energy (Norway) has concluded a farm-in recently signed document would increase its
and carry agreement for Kudu, an offshore nat- subsidiary BW Kudu’s stake in the field from
ural gas field, with the National Petroleum Cor- 56% to 95%. The deal also reserves the remain-
poration of Namibia (NAMCOR). ing 5% for NAMCOR and ensures that the latter
In a press release, BW Energy said that the can up its stake to 10% after production begins.

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 04 27•January•2021