Page 15 - AfrOil Week 02 2023

AfrOil PROJECTS & COMPANIES AfrOil

John Hamilton, the CEO of Panoro, com- during the course of the year.”
mented: “The Hibiscus Ruche Phase I devel- Dussafu Marine is an 850-square km
opment is an important component of Panoro’s licence area located within the Ruche Exclusive
organic production growth outlook. With the Exploitation Area (Ruche EEA), another block
production facilities and flowlines successfully offshore Gabon, in waters that average 116
installed, commencement of the Hibiscus Ruche metres in depth.
Phase I production drilling programme in early The block is home to six oil discovered oil-
January, together with the imminent commis- fields and multiple leads and prospects. Equity
sioning of the new gas lift compressor at the pro- in the project is divided between BW Energy,
ducing Tortue field, keeps us on track to achieve Panoro and the national oil company (NOC),
our targeted 2023 peak rate of 12,500 [bpd of oil] Gabon Oil. ™

Somaliland announces first oil discovery

SOMALIA SOMALILAND, a region of Somalia that unilat- Since then, Genel has signed a farm-out
erally proclaimed its independence in 1991 but agreement for SL-10-B and SL-13 with OPIC
has failed to achieve international recognition, Somaliland Corp. (OSC), which is funded by
announced on January 8 that it had made its first Taiwan’s state-owned CPC Corp. OSC now
discovery of crude oil within its own territory. holds a 49% stake in the blocks, which Genel
In a video statement posted on its Facebook has retained 51% of equity and operatorship of
page, Somaliland’s energy and mineral resources the project.
ministry said it had launched an investigation The UK-based company has not yet reached
after receiving reports that black liquid had been the development stage at its blocks in Somali-
found spilling into a water well drilling site near land, but its plans have attracted negative atten-
Sallahey in the Marodi-Jeh region. Now that tion from Somalia’s federal government. In late
the liquid has been confirmed to be crude oil, December 2022, the country’s Ministry of Petro-
UK-based Genel Energy has been tasked with leum and Mineral Resources issued a statement
exploring the site, said Mohammad Abdullahi, once again denying Genel’s claim to the blocks.
the head of the ministry. “The federal government of Somalia cate-
As of press time, it was not clear when Genel, gorically rejects Genel Energy Plc’s claim to own
which has been active in Somaliland for more petroleum rights in Somalia’s northern regions,”
than a decade, might begin exploration work or the statement said. Authorities in Mogadishu
what the parameters of the projects could be. intend to take “all possible measures and pur-
According to information posted on its sue all legal avenues as part of its constitutional
website, Genel won exploration licences for the mandate of protecting Somalia’s territorial
SL-10-B and SL-13 onshore blocks in the break- integrity,” it added.
away region in August 2012 and a 50% stake For its part, officials in Somaliland have
in the onshore Odewayne production-sharing dismissed the federal government’s demands,
agreement (PSA), which covers the SL-6, SL-7 saying that Mogadishu has no authority in the
and SL-10A blocks, in November 2012. region. ™

Abdullahi, shown on January 8 (Screenshot from Somaliland energy and mineral resources ministry video)

Week 02 12•January•2023 www. NEWSBASE .com P15