Page 12 - AfrOil Week 22a 2020

AfrOil INVESTMENT AfrOil
A feasibility study has also been commissioned to erect a $110mn ethanol plant, and projects to produce propylene and polypropylene in Alex- andria are also being considered.
Egypt’s petroleum ministry also wants to
establish a $400mn facility to produce up to 50,000 tpy of polyacetal and a $260mn plant to produce up to 60,000 tpy of melamine, both in Damietta. Studies are underway on producing sodium carbonate in Kafr El Sheikh. ™
Nigeria launches marginal field bidding round after 10-year delay
NIGERIA’S Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) revealed on June 1 that it had launched a new round of bidding for marginal fields.
In a statement, the department said that the bidding round would cover 57 fields in the onshore, swamp and shallow-water zones. It did not name the sites but indicated that it had set up an online data room for potential investors.
“Interested parties are invited to visit the DPR dedicated portal – marginal.dpr.gov.ng – toaccesstheguidelinesfortheawardandoper- ations of marginal fields in Nigeria 2020 and the requirements for participation,” the statement said.
The department further noted that the auc- tions would be open to local firms, as well as investors. “The bid round is open to indigenous companies and investors interested in [the] exploration and production business in Nige- ria,” it said.
The announcement marks Nigeria’s return to selling off marginal fields after a series of delays that lasted for more than 10 years. The DPR has said several times in recent months that it hoped to launch another licensing round in 2020.
Sources in Abuja said earlier this year that the online data room might serve to speed up the bidding process, meaning that the auctions could be finished in as little as six weeks. More recently, though, Nigerian officials have men- tioned a possible timeline of six months from
the announcement of licence awards to the completion of farm-in negotiations with poten- tial foreign partners, according to Adam Blythe, a partner in the Bracewell law firm.
Blythe told Energy Voice earlier this week that contract negotiations might not all follow the same schedule. “It seems possible that com- panies could evaluate fields and be ready to sign in six months, but how quick and willing the original licence holder will be to reach terms on an expedited basis remains to be seen,” he said.
“Anybiddingprocessinthecurrentenviron- ment faces challenges, but marginal fields may represent less of a difficulty, given [that] they are typically smaller in scale, near to development and with lower capital costs,” he added. ™
Nigeria held its last marginal field auctions over 10 years ago (Image: PetroAfrique)
Tullow, Total move closer to Uganda deal
CNOOC has opted not to enlarge its stake in EACOP and three oil-bearing blocks
UGANDA
TULLOW Oil (UK/Ireland) has cleared another hurdle towards the sale of its stake in several Ugandan projects to Total (France).
In a statement dated May 28, the company announced that the third partner in these projects, China National Offshore Oil Corp.
(CNOOC), had decided not to exercise its right to buy half of the equity in the relevant assets on the same terms as Total.
“Accordingly, there are no changes to the previously announced transaction or timeline,” it said.
P12
w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 22 03•June•2020