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AfrOil NEWS IN BRIEF AfrOil

business new africa bna/IntelliNews

Cameroon launches bribery

investigation into Glencore

Cameroon’s anti-corruption agency has begun
an investigation into claims that mining com-
pany Glencore Plc paid bribes to officials at
state-run companies in exchange for favours, an
official has revealed.
On July 19, Dieudonne Massi Gams, chair-
man of the country’s National Anti-Corruption
Commission (CONAC), told Reuters that a
commission was set up in response to numerous
complaints.
“We are working on it and will take our time
in order to produce good results,” Gams said,
without giving further details.
Glencore has previously been sanctioned for SDX, which owns an operating interest in drilling at the MSD-23 infill development well
bribery and has admitted to paying Cameroo- the field, is undertaking a pressure build-up test on the Meseda field in its West Gharib conces-
nian officials in the National Hydrocarbons and will obtain the relevant data from down hole sion, Egypt (SDX: 50% working interest).
Corporation (SNH) and National Refining gauges early next week, the results of which will MSD-23 encountered the primary top Asl
Company (SONARA) in return for preferential be available in the coming weeks. Formation reservoir at 3,909 feet MD (3,112
access. The company paid a total of $11mn in Additionally, the existing 3D seismic data feet TVDSS) and reached a TD of 4,449 feet
bribes. around the discovery will be reprocessed and MD on July10. The well encountered 131.5 feet
This June, in London, Glencore’s UK subsid- re-interpreted. The final results of this work are of good-quality, net oil pay sandstone, with an
iary pleaded guilty to seven counts of bribery, expected to be available in three months’ time average porosity of 24.1% in the Asl Formation
related to operations not only in Cameroon, but and will inform the requirements to commer- reservoir. The net pay was split across three sep-
also in Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Nigeria cialise the discovery, which may necessitate arate sand units, with the uppermost sand cov-
and South Sudan. According to the British Seri- more wells than the two wells initially estimated ering seven feet of net pay with 27.4% porosity.
ous Fraud Office, Glencore paid bribes of over to produce the gas, the company said. This upper oil-bearing sand is at virgin pressure,
$28mn “or preferential access to oil, including “The higher-than-expected pressure decline meaning that it has not been depleted by any sur-
increased cargoes, valuable grades of oil and from the MA-1X test is a surprise and inconsist- rounding wells and it also represents an unantic-
preferable dates of delivery.” ent with what we have seen in our analogous Ibn ipated upside as it was not included in pre-drill
bna/IntelliNews, July 20 2022 Yunus wells,” SDX CEO Mark Reid said. estimates. MSD-23 will now be tied-in to the
“We will work closely with our partners existing facilities and flow tested.
over the next three months interpreting the test MSD-23 is the fifth well in a fully funded,
PROJECTS & COMPANIES results and reprocessing and re-interpreting the 13-well development campaign on the Meseda
existing 3D seismic over the discovery. At the and Rabul oil fields in the West Gharib conces-
SDX Energy provides update end of this process, we will update the market sion, Egyptian Eastern Desert. Operations at the
as to the proposed commercialisation strategy third well, MSD-20, are expected to recommence
on gas discovery at MA-1X for the discovery which may mean that an addi- later this month following the replacement of a
tional well or wells could be required to produce rig which had experienced operational issues.
well in Egypt showing good out this discovery.” The development drilling campaign is aimed at
In Egypt, SDX has a working interest in two growing gross production to circa 3,500-4,000
flow rates producing assets: a 36.9% operated interest in bpd by early 2023.
the South Disouq and Ibn Yunus gas fields and a
The rig will now move to the next well in the
MENA-focused energy company SDX Energy 67.0% operated interest in the Ibn Yunus North campaign.
Plc has provided an update on the testing of its gas field in the Nile Delta and a 50% non-op- Mark Reid, CEO of SDX, commented: “The
gas discovery at the MA-1X well in the South erated interest in the West Gharib concession, logs from MSD-23 indicate an excellent result
Disouq concession in Egypt. which is located onshore in the Eastern Desert, with the virgin pressure upper sand of particular
The well, in the Mohsen prospect, showed adjacent to the Gulf of Suez. interest. The well will now be connected to our
good flow rates of circa 8.0 mcf per day of natu- bna/IntelliNews, July 18 2022 infrastructure and flow tested and we will update
ral gas commensurate with the high-quality Kafr the market on the results of this in the coming
El Sheikh Formation reservoir around the well SDX Energy announces weeks. With MSD-23 coming online we expect
bore, which has an average porosity of 31.9%, the to increase gross production to 2,300-2,400 bpd
company said in a statement. completion of drilling at and we are anticipating further increasing pro-
“However, the well-head pressure decline duction through the completion of operations at
observed over a three-day production test was MSD-23 infill development MSD-20 and the drilling of the eight remaining
higher than expected, which could indicate that wells in the campaign over the next year. I look
a lower volume of gas is connected to the MA-1X in West Gharib forward to updating the market further as the
well bore compared to pre-drill estimates,” it campaign progresses.”
said. SDX Energy has announced the completion of SDX Energy, July 15 2022

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