Page 14 - AfrOil Week 43 2021

AfrOil PROJECTS & COMPANIES AfrOil

The agreement effectively “[removes] the rig expected to begin upstream development work
from the drilling market,” Aquadrill stated. As at Kudu, saying that this step would depend on
such, it said, BW Energy will be obligated to pay the finalisation of a financing solution for the
Aquadrill liquidated damages of $50,000 per day gas-to-power scheme.
for each day the repurposed rig is used for drill- The Kudu field contains around 1.3 trillion
ing services, with the total amount of damages cubic feet (36.81bn cubic metres) of gas. It was
to be capped at $6mn. discovered in 1974 but has yet to be developed.
“Additionally, if within the first two years of Namibian authorities hope to use future pro-
closing the unit is sold on terms [that] do not duction from the field to reduce the country’s
exclude the use of the unit for drilling purposes, reliance on imported electricity coming from
and the resale price exceeds $15mn, the buy- coal-fired thermal power plants (TPPs).
ers will be obliged to pay [Aquadrill] 50% of BW Energy has a 95% stake in the Kudu field,
the amount by which the resale price exceeds and the National Petroleum Corporation of
$15mn,” it added. Namibia (NAMCOR) owns the remaining 5%.
Carl K. Arnet, the CEO of BW Energy, State-owned NAMCOR will have the oppor-
expressed satisfaction with the planned acqui- tunity to increase its holdings to 10% after gas
sition of the semi-submersible rig. “The revised production begins. ™
development concept offers tangible financial,
schedule and environmental benefits,” he said.
“The re-use of existing facilities also supports a
substantial reduction in field development-re-
lated greenhouse gas emissions compared to
a new-build. We have consequently decided
to take advantage of the availability [of] this
high-quality [rig] at an attractive price.”
Arnet also touted BW Energy’s plan to make
Kudu the focus of a gas-to-power project that
will serve Namibia’s domestic market. The
project will make the country less dependent
on imported electricity and stabilise domestic
power supplies while also reducing carbon diox-
ide emissions, he said. “We consider the electri-
fication of the African economies a significant
long-term growth opportunity for BW Energy
and a potential avenue for us to develop a new
strategic position closer to the end-customers of
energy,” he commented.
The Norwegian company did not say when it Kudu is in the offshore Orange basin (Image: BW Energy)

ExxonMobil board reportedly weighs

scrapping $30bn Rovuma LNG project

MOZAMBIQUE FOLLOWING a reshuffle on its board of direc- company’s board is slated to vote on the plan at
tors, ExxonMobil is debating whether to con- the end of October.
tinue with several major oil and gas projects, The review is also targeting another mul-
including the $30bn Rovuma LNG initiative in ti-billion-dollar gas project in Vietnam, accord-
Mozambique, the Wall Street Journal reported ing to WSJ’s sources.
on October 20. ExxonMobil is working to determine how
The US-based super-major’s board now much carbon each project is expected to emit
includes three members nominated by an activ- and how these projections might affect the com-
ist stakeholder that has pushed for restricting pany’s ability to uphold pledges to reduce emis-
investment in fossil fuels in order to limit carbon sions, the newspaper said.
emissions and return more cash to shareholders. Rovuma LNG is already facing a number of
The stakeholder in question is Engine No. 1, an obstacles. ExxonMobil said last year that it had
activist investment fund formed earlier this year. decided to delay a final investment decision
Discussions on the Rovuma LNG project are (FID) on the project, citing concerns about low
taking place within the framework of a review global energy prices and the impact of the coro-
of ExxonMobil’s five-year spending plan. The navirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 43 27•October•2021