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ExxonMobil agreed to a package of Nigerian assets to Seplat Energy last year (Image: Seplat Energy)

“We are not leaving,” he told Reuters separately. Major oil producers have been shifting
“The deepwater [zone] in Nigeria remains an investments to lower-carbon natural gas devel-
attractive opportunity, but it has to compete opment on the continent and to more lucrative
with other opportunities around the world.” projects in the Americas.
Mallon is due to speak at the CERAweek con- Large-scale oil theft from pipelines has also
ference alongside Nigerian National Petroleum caused production to shut down, impacting the
Co. Ltd (NNPCL) group CEO Mele Kyari. industry’s overall output. ™

Woodside Energy wins right to acquire

56% stake in PEL 87 offshore Namibia

NAMIBIA AUSTRALIA’S Woodside Energy has secured
an option to buy a 56% participating interest in
Petroleum Exploration Licence 87 (PEL 87) off-
shore Namibia from Sintana, a Canadian firm.
In a statement, Sintana explained that
Woodside would have the option to acquire the
stake for a price of about $35mn, subject to pay-
ment of the full cost of a 3D-seismic survey cov-
ering an area of at least 5,000 square km within
the licence area. Woodside will have at least 180
days to exercise the option after the delivery of
the seismic survey data, it said.
If Woodside exercises this option, it must
then enter into a farm-out agreement. Under
this new agreement, it will carry the costs of the
existing joint venture partners in PEL 87 during
the drilling of the first exploration well at the
block after the completion of the seismic survey. PEL 87 is in the Orange basin (Image: Sintana Energy)
According to Sintana, seismic survey work
will begin in March 2023, and fast-track pro- “The transaction strengthens the position-
cessed results will be available in late June this ing of both Custos and Sintana in Namibia.
year. Meanwhile, Custos Investments, a firm in Specifically in an area that has emerged as the
which Sintana owns an indirect minority inter- exploration hot-spot in recent years, particularly
est, will retain a 15% interest in PEL 87 and will after the recent discoveries by Total Energies and
benefit from this carry and other elements of Shell,” said Knowledge Katti, the chairman and
related farmout and joint operating agreements. CEO of Custos and a director of Sintana.

Week 10 09•March•2023 www. NEWSBASE .com P7