Page 4 - AfrOil Week 16 2021

AfrOil COMMENTARY AfrOil

(Image: Sunny Hill Energy)
(Image: Sunny Hill Energy)

Sonatrach spars with Sunny Hill

Algeria’s national oil company has taken control of a minority stake in the Ain

Tsila gas field, citing concerns about the repeated postponement of production

ALGERIA’S national oil company (NOC) con- original 75% stake in Groupement Isarene, the
firmed last week that it had taken a minority statement added.
WHAT: stake in the Ain Tsila natural gas field away from The size of the company’s holdings has been
Sonatrach has wrested a Petroceltic Ain Tsila, a wholly owned subsidiary reduced twice since the parties signed a con-
38.5% stake in Ain Tsila of UK-based Sunny Hill Energy. tract, it noted.
away from Petroceltic. In a statement emailed to Reuters, Sonatrach
said it had seized the 38.5% stake in Groupe- Delayed development
WHY: ment Isarene, the joint operating group set up The NOC is attributing its decision to Petrocelt-
The field’s reserves are to develop Ain Tsila, on April 12. It explained ic’s failure to move forward with the develop-
large enough to generate that it had taken action because of Petroceltic’s ment plan adopted in 2012.
$50bn in budget revenues failure to meet certain contractual obligations That plan called for bringing Ain Tsila – a
over a period of 20 years. and asserted that it had acted in accordance with field within the Isarene licence area, which
the terms of the Sunny Hill subsidiary’s contract includes Blocks 228 and 229a in the Illizi basin
WHAT NEXT: by giving four months’ notice of its intentions. – on stream in 2017. It also predicted that the
Petroceltic’s parent com- Additionally, it called on Sunny Hill and Petro- field’s initial yields would amount to 10mn cubic
pany Sunny Hill has said celtic to transfer all operations at Ain Tsila over metres per day of natural gas, 11,500 barrels per
it will pursue legal action
against Sonatrach. to Algerian control. day of gas condensate and 17,000 bpd of LPG
Petroceltic has already given up part of its after processing.

P4 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 16 21•April•2021