Page 14 - AfrOil Week 05 2023

AfrOil PROJECTS & COMPANIES AfrOil

Another core hole, 270-03C, which Kinetiko 285 metres of 13 cubic metres per tonnes and
spudded on January 24, 2023, is designed to test still rising, probably due to proximity to a dol-
the potential of the southerly dipping basement erite dyke.”
structures. The company says on its website that it has
The well, it noted, is anticipated to provide 4.9 trillion cubic feet (138.8bn cubic metres) in
deeper, higher-pressured gassy sands and coal contingent resources and large potential explo-
sequences similar to those encountered in ration area, of which approximately 7,000 square
270-06C. km is granted and being explored.
Core well 270-03C is the second to be drilled Kinetiko’s CEO Nick de Blocq called the
in a three-well initial programme in Kinetiko’s success at 271-23C encouraging, saying that the
Southern Exploration Right 270. It lies approx- firm was looking at the potential of supplying
imately 10km north of 270-06C and 2km from substantial gas volumes to a nearby coal-fired
South Africa’s largest gas pipeline, the Lily Pipe- power station.
line, which supplies industries of the southern “The proximate location of our southern-
KwaZulu Natal region and some coastal cities in most boreholes in ER270 to the steel-smelting
the energy-starved country. and manufacturing centre of Newcastle could
The update went on to say that core desorp- mean a simplified logistical solution to get the
tion testing of 271-23C “has returned a remark- gas to an increasingly hungry, thermal industry
able result; an average of over 5 cubic metres per market,” he continued. “In our northernmost
tonne, with most gas coming from the interval block, ER272, we are already working with
between 320 metres and 350 metres. Kinetiko Sasol and Seriti in terms of borehole placements
have also observed a record-breaking peak at ahead of the rig’s arrival around Easter.” ™

TotalEnergies’ boss expected to signal

resumption of work on $20bn gas project

MOZAMBIQUE TOTALENERGIES’ CEO Patrick Pouyanne is squeezes supplies.”
due in Mozambique this week to assess whether Separatist-driven violence, which erupted in
or not conditions allow for the French major to October 2017, has been on the decline since July
resume work on the onshore component of a 2021, when Rwanda and some southern Afri-
$20bn LNG project in the north of the country. can countries deployed troops to assist Mozam-
In early 2021, the French company sus- bique’s army in fighting the insurgents. The
pended work in Cabo Delgado province, where conflict has resulted in more than 4,200 deaths
it has already started building a 13mn tonne and up to 1mn displacements.
per year (tpy) LNG plant, after Islamist rebels TotalEnergies is likely to have an easier time
attacked a nearby town. Work on the project has deciding to resume work on the project, Africa
remained frozen under a declaration of force Intelligence commented on January 31, because
majeure ever since. of the significant improvements in security in
However, Bloomberg reported on February 1 the region.
that two government officials had indicated that The conflict has influenced the timeline for
Pouyanne was scheduled to travel to the region, Rovuma LNG, a separate project led by the US
where major oil firms discovered the bulk of the super-major ExxonMobil. The Rovuma LNG
south-eastern African nation’s 180 trillion cubic group has delayed a final investment decision
feet (5.1 trillion cubic metres) of recoverable gas (FID) on its own $30bn, 15mn tpy project partly
in the offshore Rovuma Basin. due to the conflict and partly due to the need to
As of press time, TotalEnergies and Mozam- change the design of its project to include car-
bique’s energy regulator had not responded to bon capture and storage (CCS) facilities.
Bloomberg’s inquiries for comments. Meanwhile, Italy’s Eni, which is leading the
“A recommencement of the project would Coral South LNG project, has succeeded in
come at a critical time for Mozambique, whose launching its own wholly offshore 3.4mn tpy
entire economy is worth less than the construc- LNG project despite the onshore conflict. It
tion cost of TotalEnergies’s LNG plant,” the began exporting LNG in late 2022.
news agency writes. “Revenues from the project Mozambican Finance Minister Max Ton-
would be important to servicing its sole $900mn ela told Bloomberg in September 2022 that he
Eurobond after government debt soared to was “very optimistic” that TotalEnergies would
more than 100% of gross domestic product. The make a decision by March 2023 to restart devel-
Mozambique LNG project could also play a key opment after satisfying itself that conditions for
role in easing Europe’s energy crunch as Russia long-term security were in place. ™

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 05 02•February•2023