Page 8 - AfrOil Week 30 2021

AfrOil PIPELINES & TRANSPORT AfrOil

PML pointed out that Muwema & Co. was not EACOP is slated to follow a 1,445-km path
the first party to issue a legal challenge to the from Hoima, a town in western Uganda, to
EACOP project. Tanga, a port on Tanzania’s coast. The pipe-
Last November, it noted, four non-govern- line will be built by a consortium in which
mental organisations (NGOs) asked the East Total is serving as operator, with a 37.5% stake.
African Court of Justice to block construction The remaining equity in the group is divided
of the pipeline. According to previous reports, between China National Offshore Oil Corp.
those NGOs are the Africa Institute for Energy (CNOOC), with 37.5%; Uganda National Oil
Governance (Uganda), the Centre for Food and Co. (UNOC), with 15%, and Tanzania Petro-
Adequate Living Rights (Uganda), the Centre leum Development Corp. (TPDC), with 5%.
for Strategic Litigation (Tanzania) and Natural Both Total and CNOOC are involved in
Justice-Kenya. developing the Kingfisher and Tilenga oilfields,
The government of Uganda and Tanzania which will provide throughput for the pipeline.
joined TotalEnergies and CNOOC in finalising These fields are due to begin production in 2025
agreements on the EACOP scheme in April of and will eventually yield at least 260,000 barrels
this year. The total cost of building the link is per day of crude. EACOP will carry most of the
expected to reach $3.55bn. oil, or around 216,000 bpd. ™

INVESTMENT
Only four Angolan companies seeking

operatorships in onshore bidding round

ANGOLA ANGOLA’S National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Tusker Energy, it reported, is owned by two
Agency (ANPG) has not revealed the outcome Angolan citizens who are the sons of Paul Laker,
of the bidding contests covering nine onshore a South African businessman who has lived in
blocks in the Kwanza and Lower Congo basins. Angola for some time. Meanwhile, it said, Sim-
According to a local business weekly, however, ple Oil is owned by Alberto Mendes, the son of
most of the local companies that have submitted Isalino Mendes, the former governor of Bengo.
bids in this year’s onshore licensing round are Expensão did not provide a full breakdown
only seeking non-operating stakes in the assets of the bids or say which blocks the companies
slated for sale. hoped to buy. But it did state that Somoil had
According to Expensão, only four of the submitted offers for 50% stakes and operator-
Angolan companies that have turned in propos- ships in two of the sites.
als for the nine blocks included in the licensing It also said that Somoil had been outbid by
round are pursuing operatorships. The weekly two foreign companies, Inthank Oil (US) and
named the companies as Mineral One, Simples MTI Energy (Canada).
Oil, Somoil and Tusker Energy, and noted that The blocks included in the auctions were
all four of these were private firms owned by CON-1, CON-5, CON-6, KON-5, KON-6,
Angolan investors. KON-8, KON-9, KON-18 and KON-20. The
It also noted that two of these companies had bidding contests drew a total of 45 bids from 16
links to prominent investors and public figures. different companies.

Nine blocks were included in Angola’s onshore licensing round (Image: ANPG)

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 30 28•July•2021