Page 10 - AfrOil Week 46 2019

AfrOil
NEWS IN BRIEF
AfrOil
UPSTREAM
FAR Ltd: Sangomar field development
FAR Ltd advises that His Excellency, President Macky Sall of Senegal, has renamed the SNE field to the Sangomar field to better reflect the field’s association with the people of Senegal.
The Sangomar Field is located in the San- gomar Deep Offshore block, 100 km south of Dakar, and will be Senegal’s first offshore oil development. Sangomar is the geograph- ical name for an island located at the southern point of the Petite Cote (or little coast), that runs south from Dakar. Sangomar is also an impor- tant cultural area inhabited by the Serere peo- ple of Senegal and is part of the Saloum Delta National Park, an environmentally important area of mangrove-lined creeks, sandy islands and woodlands.
FAR and its Joint Venture partners are pro- gressing post FEED activities for the Sangomar Field Development offshore Senegal targeting a final investment decision (FID) by the end of 2019.The field has 5bn barrels of oil in place and will be developed in a series of phases.
The Sangomar Field Development will deliver key benefits to the country of Senegal due to the revenue generated for the Government of Senegal throughout the life of the project, which will be vital for the country’s 2030 emergent plan. The Sangomar field development is projected to generate between US$2-4bn of direct revenue for the government over the first phase of the development as well as revenue through Pet- rosen’s equity participation in the development. FAR Ltd, November 19 2019
Senegal set to offer 10
offshore blocks in 2020
licence round
The national oil company of Senegal, Petrosen, has announced the launch of the country’s first offshore licensing round, to be launched at the MSGBC Basin Summit & Exhibition in Senegal in January 2020. The round will be open for six months, until the end of July 2020, and will com- prise 10 offshore exploration blocks.
TGS holds a range of data across this acreage to support the licensing round, including 2D seismic, 3D seismic, multi-beam and seafloor sampling data. The company is also currently acquiring additional 3D seismic data to pro- vide potential bidders with a greater subsurface understanding ahead of bid submissions.
The MSGBC Basin is home to several recent high-profile oil and gas discoveries, set in a
variety of play types, both on and off the car- bonate shelf. These include the Albian sand- stone shelf edge SNE oilfield, the largest global discovery of 2014; the 25 tcf (71bn cubic metres) Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project, the largest gas discovery of 2015; and the Lower Cenomanian sandstone basin floor fan Yakaar-1 gas well, the largest global discovery of 2017. All are located offshore Senegal, within about 100 km of the Dakar Peninsula, leaving a vast area yet to be explored.
Beyond these significant discoveries, mod- ern exploration activity has been limited in the region. Two new wells are to be spudded in 2020 in AGC and Guinea-Bissau, south of Senegal and in close proximity to blocks in the upcoming license round. Wolverine-1 (CNOOC) and the Atum and/or Anchova (Svenska/FAR) prospects will target shelf edge plays and give vital informa- tion about similar plays in the open blocks. The majority of the blocks and acreage offered in the licensing round are in ultra-deepwater depths, as operators plan to target the large, clean, well- sorted sands of the unrestricted basin floor.
Speaking at the launch during Africa Oil Week Senegal’s Minister of Petroleum and Energy Mahamadou Makhtar Cissé commented: “I would like to state the immense opportunities that exist in Senegal, as well as reassure a stable regulatory and investment framework. Investors should be excited and ready to take on the chal- lenge to take advantage of Senegal’s opportuni- ties within its oil and gas sector.”
TGS, November 18 2019
Tanzania: Wentworth
Resources announces
production guidance and
operational update
Wentworth Resources, the AIM listed inde- pendent, East Africa-focused natural gas com- pany has announced the following operational update.
Highlights: average Q3 production of 77.93mn cubic feet (2.207mn cubic metres) per day; anticipated full year average daily Mnazi Bay production within guidance; range tightened to 68-72mn cubic feet (1.926-2.039 mcm) per day from 60-75mn cubic feet (1.700-2.124 mcm) per day; recompletion of MB-4 anticipated to offset production loss from MB-2; maiden dividend paid in October 2019; debt-free expected in Jan- uary 2020.
Average production for the 110 months end- ing October 31, 2019, was 70.35mn cubic feet (1.992 mcm) per day gross, with full year pro- duction currently anticipated to be within the range of 68-72mn cubic feet (1.926-2.039 mcm)
per day. Q3 production averaged 77.93mn cubic feet (2.207 mcm) per day; however, this was constrained by the MB-2 well being temporarily shut-in, due to a rupture in the flowline between MB-2 and the MB-3 cluster.
The Mnazi Bay joint venture partners are currently assessing all options for bringing the MB-2 well back online in a timely manner. In the interim, the JV partners are planning the recom- pletion of the MB-4 well to the Lower Mnazi Bay sands. This will allow for production of about 90mn cubic feet (2.55 mcm) per day gross from the field, expected to commence in December, whilst the MB-2 repairs are ongoing, allowing the JV partners to meet Tanzania’s existing and growing demand for natural gas.
The company expects to see production increase through the remainder of 2019, due to: increased utilisation of gas-to-power gen- eration over hydro; and specifically, in relation to the Kinyerezi-1, Kinyerezi-2, and Ubungo II power stations; demand maintained from indus- trial customers such as the Dangote Cement plant, which is currently using 15mn cubic feet (425,000 cubic metres) per day and the Goodwill Ceramics Factory, which is currently using 5mn cubic feet (141,667 cubic metres) per day; and recompletion of the MB-4 well during the ongo- ing repairs to the MB-2 flowline.
For 2020, the company expects the Mnazi Bay field to have increased deliverability as the JV partners continue to execute on its field development and optimisation plans. The work programme anticipated during 2020 includes: repairing the MB-2 flowline to restore produc- tion from the well (ongoing); removing the plug from MB-4 to add production from the Lower Mnazi Bay sands (late Nov - Dec); and replac- ing the chokes on the MB-2, MB-3, MB-4 and MS-1X wells in Q1 2020. This minimal capex programme will allow the field to meet the increased demand that is expected once the Kinyerezi-1 extension is completed and com- missioned, expected in mid- to late 2020.
The company also continues to receive con- sistent monthly payments from both Tanzanian Petroleum Development Co. (TPDC) and Tan- zania Electric Supply Co. (TANESCO), with receivables from TPDC now standing at one month. As previously announced, the company anticipates being debt free in Q1-2020, with its final debt repayment of $1.67mn due in January 2020. The company’s gross cash balance as of October 31, 2019, was about $14mn.
Katherine Roe, interim CEO and CFO, com- mented: “We have established a highly robust operational and commercial foundation for the business. We are working well with our JV partners to ensure we achieve optimal field man- agement and are fully aligned with our operator on remedial works for MB-2 and recompletion plans for MB-4. Stable production from the field
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Week 46 20•November•2019