Page 9 - AfrOil Week 16 2022
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AfrOil INVESTMENT AfrOil
This proposed plant will be built in Benguela is slated to have a capacity of 60,000 bpd. Equity
Province and will have a design capacity of in this project has been divided between Sonan-
200,000 barrels per day (bpd). The cost of the gol, with 10%, and 90% to Gemcorp. The cost of
building the facility, which is scheduled to come building the plant is predicted to reach $920mn,
on stream in 2025 or 2026, has been estimated and Gemcorp awarded Brazil’s Odebrecht
at $6bn. Engenharia e Construção (OEC) a contract
Meanwhile, the Cabinda refinery, which is to for the construction of a crude distillation unit
be built in Angola’s northern Cabinda exclave, (CDU) last year.
Block 2B lies in a shallow-water section of the Orange basin (Image: Africa Energy)
Eco Atlantic contributes its required
share of Gazania-1 drilling expenses
SOUTH AFRICA CANADA’S Africa Energy Corp. reported on “We are excited to move forward on Block 2B
April 19 that UK-based Eco (Atlantic) Oil & and drill the Gazania-1 oil exploration well this
Gas, one of its partners in Block 2B offshore year,” he said. “The rig has been contracted and
South Africa, had contributed its required share is expected to mobilize from the North Sea in
of the projected cost of drilling the Gazania-1 August for the 45-day journey to South Africa.
exploration well. The Block 2B joint venture plans to spud the
In a statement, Africa Energy explained well by October, with drilling expected to last 30
that Eco Atlantic had deposited approxi- days, including a full set of logs in the success
mately $20mn in an escrow account. It said the case.”
UK-based firm had taken this step to cover the Block 2B lies in a shallow-water section of the
capital expenditure requirements it assumed via Orange Basin, in waters ranging from 50 to 200
its recent acquisition of Azinam Group, which metres deep. It is about 25 km from shore, not
holds stakes in several blocks offshore Namibia far from the maritime border with Namibia, and
and South Africa. covers an area of around 3,062 square km.
As of press time, Eco Atlantic had not con- Eco Atlantic and its partners are not the first
firmed Africa Energy’s statement. A subsidiary companies to explore Block 2B.
of the former company serves as the operator of Soden pointed out that the licence area was
Block 2B and holds a 50% participating inter- already known to contain “significant contin-
est in the licence area. The remaining equity in gent and prospective resources” as a result of
the project is split between Africa Energy, with the exploration and drilling work carried out by
27.5%; a subsidiary of Panoro Energy (Norway), Soekor in the late 1980s. This includes the A-J1
with 12.5%; and Crown Energy (Sweden), with well, where light sweet crude oil flowed to the
10%. surface in 1988, he noted.
Africa Energy president and CEO Garrett “Gazania-1 will target two large prospects 7
Soden noted that the partners were in position km up-dip from A-J1 in the same region as the
to begin exploration drilling within the Gazania recent Venus and Graff discoveries” offshore
section of Block 2B soon. Namibia in the Orange Basin, Soden added.
Week 16 20•April•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P9
