Page 18 - AfrOil Week 24

AfrOil NEWS IN BRIEF AfrOil

Sparrows Group moves financial partner to a Nigerian registered energy African Energy Chamber
company, in the 2020 bid round for marginal oil
to purpose-built service and gas fields organised by the Nigerian Depart- calls on investors to benefit
ment of Petroleum Resources (DPR).
facility in Angola Federal Government of Nigeria, announced from extension of the 12th
On June 1, 2020, the DPR, on behalf of the
Engineering and maintenance specialist the launch of a new a bid round for a total of 57 Gabon licensing round
Sparrows Group has re-located to a new pur- marginal fields covering a selection of onshore,
pose-built facility in Luanda, Angola to support swamp and shallow-offshore fields (2020 Bid Gabon’s Directorate General of Hydrocarbons
its growing operations in Africa. The move pro- Round). and PGS have just expanded the Gabon MegaS-
vides the company with a new workshop, storage The overarching goal of the 2020 Bid Round, urvey coverage, significantly increasing access
yard, training facilities, and office to deliver its following a similar initiative completed success- to 3D seismic over the 35 blocks on offer under
International Organisation for Standardisation fully in 2001, is to stimulate local commercial the ongoing 12th Offshore Licensing Round. In
(ISO) certified services in-country. This includes participation in the Nigerian petroleum industry a very competitive market environment, Gabon
a broad range of turnkey engineering, equip- and thereby create opportunities for domestic is showing once again its willingness to remain
ment maintenance and training services. economic development. attractive and engage with regional and global
Located in the Vila Flor area, at approximately Further key objectives of the 2020 Bid Round investors to attract capital and technology in its
2,000 square metres in size, the new complex include the following: growing production acreages.
enables Sparrows to provide customers in the capacity by increasing the scope of participation Gabon’s ongoing Licensing Round was
region with a fast turnaround and assurance that in Nigeria’s petroleum sector, through diversifi- launched in November 2018 and has already
work is carried out by experienced specialists to cation of resources and inflow of investments; been met with significant success, resulting in the
the right international standards. Equipped with increasing oil and gas reserves through aggres- signing of a record number of PSCs in sub-Saha-
the latest digital technology, the new facility gives sive exploration and development efforts. ran Africa last year. In response to ongoing mar-
Sparrows the capability to deliver their full suite Andrea Cattaneo, Chief Executive Officer, ket conditions and the pandemic of COVID-19,
of training courses including mobile crane, crane commented: “Zenith has had ambitions to estab- the Ministry of Petroleum, Gas, Hydrocarbons
simulator, forklift and rigging training. lish a presence in Nigeria for a number of years. and Mines extended the submission deadline
A new equipment rental fleet situated at the The launching of the 2020 Bid Round for Mar- beyond April 30, 2020. The extended round gives
premises includes rigging lofts, hydraulic power ginal Fields, which has not happened since 2001, investors an opportunity to keep studying what
units, flushing rigs, and general tooling. The represents an exceptional opportunity for the is one of Africa’s hottest upstream frontier. The
workshops are outfitted to undertake the main- Company and its Nigerian partner to acquire an Chamber salutes the offering of additional seis-
tenance and testing of hydraulic and electrical underdeveloped, potentially transformational mic and well data as a key solution to maintain
components (pumps, motors, gearboxes, cyl- oil production and exploration asset in the cur- and expand Gabon’s engagement with potential
inders, etc.), winches and fabricated assemblies. rent low oil price environment. and credible investors.
Stewart Mitchell, chief executive officer of “Among the 57 Marginal Fields included in As an additional incentive for investors, the
Sparrows, said: “Africa is a strategic growth area the 2020 Bid Round, there are specific assets Directorate General of Hydrocarbons and PGS
for Sparrows and we have seen a surge in demand which are particularly appealing to Zenith, espe- are now offering over 65,000 square km of 3D
for local training, equipment maintenance and cially on account of their compatibility with our seismic and over 21,000 km of 2D seismic data
rental services in recent years. We are committed development objectives. Indeed, the near-term across the 35 blocks, providing further oppor-
to developing the local workforce and are proud production potential of certain assets is expected tunity to integrate new data into evaluations of
to be the only company able to offer UK and EU to facilitate the achievement of financing agree- open blocks. Investors can do so through the
standards of offshore crane operator and rigging ments to support our expansion. We expect the Gabon MegaSurvey, a cost-effective tool for
and lifting training in Angola. potential award of a Marginal Field, following regional evaluation and visualisation of plays
“Our team in Africa have been working the 2020 Bid Round process, to happen within and migration pathways.
extremely hard to get this new facility up and six months of bid submission. In addition to the seismic data, well data is
running and we look forward to working with “I look forward to updating the market in now available for 167 wells within the MegaS-
our customers to deliver the quality and effi- due course regarding our very exciting progress urvey area, in order to support the evaluation of
ciency they rightly demand in the region.” in Africa.” the blocks on offer. “Value-added composite logs
Sparrows Group, June 10 2020 Zenith Energy, June 16 2020 used in conjunction with the regional seismic
dataset will help the assessment of prospectivity
and play evaluation,” PGS declared this week.
INVESTMENT “The Chamber notes the country’s contin-
ued commitment to offer an enabling business
Zenith Energy to participate environment for investors, which echoes several
recommendations issued earlier this year as part
in Nigeria’s 2020 marginal of our Africa’s Energy Commonsense agenda,”
declared Leoncio Amada Nze, President for the
field bidding round CEMAC region at the African Energy Chamber.
“We see the ongoing Licensing Round in Gabon
Zenith Energy, the listed international oil and gas as a pillar of future investments in the whole
production company focused on pursuing Afri- region and a booster to the sector’s recovery,” he
can development opportunities, has announced added.
its participation, in the capacity of technical and Africa Energy Chamber, June 11 2020

P18 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 24 17•June•2020