Page 16 - AfrOil Week 42 2021

AfrOil PROJECTS & COMPANIES AfrOil

The asset is being developed under a Produc- (FSIV); Personnel Carrier , Diving Support Ves-
tion-Sharing Contract (PSC) arrangement with sel (DSV); and Accommodation vessel (Flotel).
Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC). Although Shell is in the process of divesting
According to SNEPCO, the support service onshore and relatively older assets in Nigeria, it
vessels are expected to commence work in April has yet to reach a final agreement with its joint
2022 and for a term of three years . However, venture partners, particularly the Nigerian gov-
there will be an option to extend the duration by ernment. The company has already ceded piece-
another two years. meal most of its marginal assets to indigenous
The contract describes the scope of work and operators.
the type of vessels required and includes: AHTS According to local press reports, Shell would
with 85 tons minimum bollard pull; Anchor prefer to offload all its onshore and shallow-wa-
Handling Tug Supply Vessel; Platform Supply ter assets to a single consortium with sufficient
Vessel (PSV); Fast Support Intervention Vessel funds and technical capabilities. ™

Petronor secures extension for

A4 licence offshore The Gambia

ANGOLA PETRONOR (Norway) says the government of offshore sites, and then obtained another 30-day
The Gambia has extended the term of its licence extension on September 18, 2021.
for the offshore block known as A4 by one year. Eyaz Almahouz, the chairman of Petronor,
According to a company statement, the responded positively to Banjul’s decision. “We
extension pushes the expiration date of Petro- are delighted to have negotiated this extension
nor’s exploration and production licence back which strengthens our long-standing partner-
to October 18, 2022. ship with the government of The Gambia,” he
As a result, the Norwegian firm will have commented.
more time to continue discussions with poten- “After the successful reinstatement of the
tial investors in the project. license, PetroNor has progressed discussions
Petronor did not name any of the companies with a number of interested parties,” he con-
involved in these discussions. It has reportedly tinued. “This extension will hopefully enable
been looking into options for bringing another the company to convert those discussions into
partner on board via a farm-out deal. a formal partnership agreement with a view to
Currently, Petronor holds a 90% stake in proving up the exciting prospectivity of A4. The
A4, which lies in the offshore in the Maurita- market conditions and industry appetite for this
nia-Senegal-Gambia-Guinea-Bissau-Conakry kind of high-impact asset have vastly improved
(MSGBC) basin. The remaining 10% of equity over the past few months which has solidified
in the project is owned by the government of our confidence in realising value from this asset
The Gambia. going forward.”
This is not the first time the company has A4 was one of two licence areas in The Gam-
sought to extend its licence for the block. It bia that were taken from Australia’s African
secured a one-year extension on September 18, Petroleum in 2017. The other is known as A1,
2020, when it resolved disputes with the gov- which was returned to the Gambian govern-
ernment of The Gambia over the A1 and A4 ment last year. ™

The A4 block is a deepwater offshore site (Photo: African Petroleum)

P16 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 42 20•October•2021