Page 12 - AfrOil Week 02 2023

AfrOil PROJECTS & COMPANIES AfrOil

APEX buys stakes in six sites in

Egypt’s Western Desert from Eni

EGYPT APEX International Energy (APEX) has With the concession interests purchased
acquired full or part interest in six oil conces- from IEOC, APEX’s combined working interest
sions in Egypt’s Western Desert from Italy’s Eni production in the Western Desert is expected to
for an undisclosed sum. approach 11,500 bpd, with prospects for addi-
In a statement, the company said it had fully tional growth placing APEX as the eighth lead-
purchased four concessions: Ras Qattara, West ing oil producer in Egypt.
El Razzak and East Kanayis and West Abu Gha- Apex also expects to commence its first nat-
radig from IEOC Production BV (IEOC), a ural gas production during the second quarter
unit of Eni. The concessions are to be operated of 2023, when the Faramid Development Lease
by Farah Petroleum Co. (PetroFarah), the joint in the East Obaiyed concession is projected to
venture operating company of APEX and Egyp- come online. There are two natural gas discov-
tian General Petroleum Co. (EGPC). eries in the concession, and IEOC has been pro-
APEX also acquired a 25% partial interests gressing development plans with EGPC. ™
in two additional concessions: East Obaiyed and
South West Meleiha, also in the Western Desert,
from IEOC, which will remain as operator. The
sale of interests in the latter two concessions is
pending parliamentary approval of extensions
to the concessions, which is expected to be com-
pleted in the first quarter of 2023.
APEX has discovered four new fields in its
existing South East Meleiha (SEM) concession
since January 2021 and plans additional explor-
atory drilling in SEM in 2023. Its existing pro-
duction in SEM grew to approximately 7,000
barrels per day (bpd) since production start-up
in August 2021, with a total of 25 wells drilled
since December 2020, of which 17 are currently
producing. APEX’s new sites are in Egypt’s Western Desert (Image: Welligence Energy Analytics)

TOR expected back online next month

GHANA GHANA’S sole oil processing unit, the embat- crude distillation unit (CDU) and fluid cata-
tled Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), is expected to lytic cracking (FCC) unit, while only one of the
resume operations by the end of February fol- CDU’s furnaces is currently operational, giving
lowing extensive repair work. the 56-year-old facility an effective throughput
Speaking on local radio last week, Deputy capacity of 30,000 bpd.
Energy Minister Andrew Egyapa Mercer said Reports in May 2021 suggested that the refin-
that the government is finalising all necessary ery had depleted all of its feedstock, with oper-
requirements to ensure the facility can operate ations halted for maintenance and repair works
smoothly. to begin.
“The expectation of management, at the last In mid-2022, Minister for Public Enterprises
meeting that we held at the office of his Excel- Joshua Cudjoe said the government was seeking
lency the President, was that by the end of Feb- strategic partners willing to provide the capital
ruary, they expect that they would start refining required to rehabilitate TOR, which requires
products at TOR,” he told JoyNews. extensive repair work.
The 45,000-barrel per day (bpd) facility has Meanwhile, Ghanian industry sources have
been plagued by issues since an explosion at its indicated in recent weeks that the planned
distillation unit in early 2017, and was closed 30,000-40,000 bpd Sentuo Oil Refinery could
completely between July 2020 and January also become operational within the next few
2021. Outages have been experienced at the months.

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