Page 15 - AfrOil Week 10 2023

AfrOil NEWS IN BRIEF AfrOil

PIPELINES & TRANSPORT Assignment. EFGL has simultaneously returned in a statement, adding AGM had “fulfilled all of
its 33% stake in Nile BV to SDX for a nominal fee the obligations under the petroleum agreement.”
Vessel carrying 600,000 of $1. The parties have agreed to an effective date AGM is an independent company, and the
as of the signature by the Egyptian Minister of decision has no implication for Aker Energy’s
barrels of Russian crude Petroleum of the Deed of Assignment on Feb- plans in Ghana, the report indicated.
ruary 22, 2023.
Ghana National Petroleum Corp. (GNPC)
oil to Ghana loaded from the Reconstitution represents a related party Deepwater Tano/Cape Three Points (DWT/
As EFGL is considered a related party of SDX, was working on a plan to buy into SDWT and
Kazakhstan port transaction under the AIM Rules. The direc- CTP) block.
Africa Centre for Energy Security (ACEP)
tors of the Company having consulted with the
A tanker that Bloomberg reported last week Company’s nominated adviser, consider that the official Benjamin Boakye said it was “curious”
arrived in Ghana’s territorial waters on February terms of the transaction are fair and reasonable that AGM and Aker were going their separate
24 carrying 600,000 barrels of Russian crude that insofar as its shareholders are concerned. ways, as “AGM had been working on a sale to
was initially loaded in Aktau, Kazakhstan, a port SDX Energy, 07 March 2023 GNPC only 18 months ago and could value the
on the Caspian Sea, Joy News writes, citing offi- asset at $700mn,” Energy Voice reports.
cial documents. Egypt’s Petroleum Ministry Aker Energy must now provide a develop-
Bloomberg, citing tanker tracking data the ment plan for its Pecan field by April. However,
news agency had compiled, reported that the launches first international it faces the challenge of addressing the possibility
tanker, the Theseus, departed “from a port in of being subjected to anti-Russian sanctions due
the Black Sea” and Russia was looking to store its bid round for mature fields to the presence of Russian oil giant Lukoil.
cargo in Ghana while it searched for new buyers bna/IntelliNews, 08 March 2023
in the face of Western sanctions over its invasion Egypt’s Petroleum Ministry launched through
of Ukraine. its portal the first international bid round to San Leon Energy
According to Joy News, a certificate of quan- develop eight maturing oilfields in the Gulf of
tity shows the shipper was Hong Kong-based Suez and Eastern Desert regions. The bid round comments on removal
Bellatrix Energy, and the Theseus had carried is targeting to attract companies with advanced
just over 79,804 tonnes of oil, which a quality technological skills capable of exploiting deep of Eroton as operator
control analysis report by state-owned Tema Oil reservoirs to produce shale oil.
Refinery (TOR) described as “light crude oil.” The bid round is part of a government-as- of OML 18
The documents also confirm earlier reports signed pivotal role to the ministry to help shore
that the Tema-based private refinery Platon Gas up Egypt’s depleted foreign exchange reserves San Leon, the independent oil and gas produc-
Oil had procured the shipment. through turbocharging oil and gas development. tion, development and exploration company
Sources at the National Petroleum Author- Egypt’s natural gas exports more than tripled last focused on Nigeria, notes the statement pub-
ity (NPA) said the shipment has not been dis- year to $8bn. lished in Nigeria on March 6, 2023, with regard
charged yet for storage. As of March 3, the The eight fields offered for bidding include to the operation of the Oil Mining License
Theseus was still docked at the Tema harbour as the offshore Ras Badran and Gulf of Oil fields (OML) 18.
investigations continued. operated by the Suez Oil Co. (SUCO) as well as The Company has been made aware of a state-
bna/IntelliNews, 07 March 2023 the Ras Shukeir, Gasolina, Ras El Ash and East ment on the Nigerian Petroleum Development
Oil currently operated by Offshore Shukeir Oil Co. Ltd (NNPCL Ltd) website that indicates that
Co. (Osoco).The ministry is also offering the the non-operating partners of OML 18, NNPCL
INVESTMENT Al-Sahel exploration and development area and OML 18 Energy Ltd have removed Eroton
through its latest bid round. All fields on offer Exploration & Production Co. as operator of
SDX Energy announces have been in operation for over 40-60 years. OML 18 on the basis of, amongst other things,
zero production from the field at present.
bna/IntelliNews, 03 March 2023
reconstitution of South Ghana-based AGM advised the Company that this purported take-
San Leon has contacted Eroton who has
Disouq disposal transaction over of operatorship was done without any legal
or contractual basis and, furthermore, that Ero-
SDX Energy has announced that at the request of relinquishes South ton considers that the action is without any legal
the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Co. (EGAS), Deepwater Tano block effect, through both a lack of due process and a
its wholly-owned subsidiary, Sea Dragon Energy breach of the rule of law. Eroton is currently tak-
(Nile) BV, and Energy Flow Global Ltd (EFGL) AGM Petroleum plans to relinquish its stake in ing advice on its legal rights to address the matter
have reconstituted the transaction announced the largest contract area in the South Deepwater expeditiously and considers that it remains the
on February 1, 2022. Tano (SDWT) block in Ghana, a contract area operator of OML 18.
There is no change to the underlying eco- of 3,500 square km situated in ultra-deep waters, Furthermore, as previously announced, the
nomic substance of the original transaction. Daily Graphic reports. lack of production from OML 18 alluded to in
Under the original transaction, EFGL acquired The company, which was involved in drill- the press has been primarily due to the unavaila-
an effective 18.15% interest in the South Dis- ing two ultra-deepwater wells, including the bility of Nembe Creek Trunk Line in the last two
ouq concession through its acquisition of 33% Nyankom discovery, said it had carefully con- years and not to production issues suffered by
in Nile BV. Under the Reconstitution, Nile BV sidered its options. Eroton. This is an industrywide problem due to
has assigned a direct 18.15% interest in the South “Relinquishing such an area is a normal con- widespread and well known crude oil theft and
Disouq concession to EFGL by way of a Deed of clusion for exploration blocks like SDWT,” it said sabotage of pipelines in the Niger Delta.

Week 10 09•March•2023 www. NEWSBASE .com P15