Page 15 - AfrOil Week 01 2021

AfrOil NEWS IN BRIEF AfrOil

As more refineries come online, Angola is well African Union. With this historical decision of
positioned to become a net exporter of refined the Ministers of APPO Member Countries, Ven-
products. ezuela is also the first non-African country to be
Meanwhile, on September 21, 2021, Diaman- an observer in APPO.
tino Azevedo, Minister of Mineral Resources, Energy Capital & Power, December 28 2021
Oil and Gas, Angola, officially inaugurated the
construction of the Oceanic Terminal – a facility
to store petroleum derivatives. With a 580,000 PROJECTS & COMPANIES
cubic metre storage capacity, the terminal will
improve fuel distribution in Angola. United Oil & Gas announces
Angola Pursues Accelerated Gas Develop- the Independent Generation of Electricity Reg-
ments: Notwithstanding the significant progress ulation – which in turn, established a Special successful result at AJ-13
made regarding oil, Angola is focused on exploit- independent Generation Regime that includes a
ing its significant gas reserves. In 2021, the coun- renewable energy component. well in Abu Sennan licence
try saw the re-launch of the gas manufacturing Across the oil, gas and renewable energy
facility in Cabinda by the national oil company space, Angola has not only managed to remain AIM-listed United Oil & Gas has announced an
Sonangol; as well as the signing of a Memoran- on track regarding national objectives, but has update on the drilling of the Al Jahraa-13 devel-
dum of Understanding (MoU) between the Min- seen accelerated growth within projects. Accord- opment well (AJ-13) within the Abu Sennan
istry of Mineral Resources and Petroleum, the ingly, the country has demonstrated that political licence, onshore Egypt.
Ministry of Energy and Water, the Minister of will, modernised regulations, and sectoral inte- Highlights: AJ-13 development well encoun-
Finance and New Fortress Energy for the devel- gration represent critical components to energy tered 17.5 metres of net pay in the oil-bearing
opment of a Liquefied Natural Gas terminal. As sector growth in the face of global challenges. Upper and Lower Bahariya reservoir targets.
gas becomes an increasingly attractive energy Energy Capital & Power, December 30 2021 The well reached Total Depth (TD) several days
source for African nations, Angola is focused on ahead of schedule and under budget. The discov-
driving progress within 2022 and beyond. ery of commercial net pay in AJ-13 makes it the
Renewable Developments Drive the Energy POLICY seventh successful well in a row at Abu Sennan
Transition: Despite relying heavily on oil and gas, since United acquired its interest in the licence.
Angola is actively pursuing energy sector diver- Secretary general of The AJ-13 well, which is a follow up to the
sification through investment and development successful Al Jahraa-8 well, safely reached a TD
within the renewable energy sector. Blessed APPO visits Venezuelan of 3,840 metres, several days ahead of schedule
with abundant clean energy resources, project and under-budget. The well has been logged and
launches and agreements throughout 2021 have ambassador in Congo interpreted to have encountered 17.5 metres of
driven the transition to a clean energy future in net oil pay across the Upper and Lower Bahariya
Angola. Omar Farouk Ibrahim, Secretary General of reservoir targets, in line with the range of pre-
Notably, speaking at the 16th United Nations the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation drill expectations.
Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Ango- (APPO), paid a courtesy visit to Anibal José The well will be tested and completed in the
lan President João Lourenço pledged to increase Marquez Munoz, Ambassador of the Bolivarian coming days and will then be brought immedi-
Angola’s renewable energy capacity to 70% of Republic of Venezuela, accredited in the Repub- ately onstream through the existing Al Jahraa
the country’s energy matrix by 2025. The com- lic of Congo. facilities, adding additional production and rev-
mitment serves as a critical starting point for The two diplomats discussed the observer enue for the Company.
accelerated renewable energy developments in Membership of Venezuela to APPO approved The AJ-13 well is the fifth and final well in the
the country. Preceding the pledge, Angola saw by the Council of Ministers of the Organisation Abu Sennan 2021 drilling programme before the
several clean energy projects launched during by Resolution 277 of December 14, 2021. 2022 drilling programme begins.
the year. During this visit, they also identified some United holds a 22% working interest in the
In September, the country signed an MoU main axes of cooperation between Vene- Licence, which is operated by Kuwait Energy
with Sun Africa and Africa Global Schaffer for zuela and APPO placed under the concept of Egypt.
the development of a $1.5bn mini-grid solar “socio-cultural pipeline”. This cooperation will United’s CEO Brian Larkin commented: “We
project. The project is expected to significantly be active from the beginning of 2022 with the have had outstanding results with our drilling
enhance clean power generation. Additionally, formalisation and institutionalisation of initia- campaign in 2021, with five out of five successful
Sonangol, Eni and the ANGP signed a MoU for tives of common interests. wells drilled at Abu Sennan this year. All of the
the production of sustainable renewable energy The Council of Ministers of APPO approved wells have been brought into production quickly,
in Angola. The agreement stipulates that Eni will unanimously the request of the Bolivarian generating cash flow for the Company. The 2021
invest $150mn over 150 acres (0.61 square km) Republic of Venezuela for Observer Member- drilling campaign has further de-risked the
of land throughout the country. What’s more, ship in the Organisation. exploration potential at Abu Sennan and the
the Angolan government implemented a set of With this historic decision, the Secretary development wells have provided further valu-
regulations that aim to incentivise renewable General of made in person the visit to the able data for future exploration drill targets two
energy investment, stimulate development, and Ambassador of Venezuela to congratulate his of which are included in the 2022 programme;
ensure a competitive and attractive business country and himself for his personal commit- ASF-1X and AST-1X. This is a great way to finish
environment for clean energy operators. Nota- ment to the achievement of this initiative. 2021, and we look forward to commencing the
ble regulations include the Regulation of Activ- The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, it 2022 drilling campaign, with a number of devel-
ities of Production, Transmission, Distribution should be recalled, was the first non-African opment and exploration wells planned.”
and Commercialisation of Electricity as well as country to become an Observer member of the United Oil & Gas, December 29 2021

Week 01 05•January•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P15