Page 19 - AfrOil Week 39

AfrOil NEWS IN BRIEF AfrOil

A total number of 800 wells are expected to be and the industry. Oisin Fanning, CEO, purchased 98mn shares
drilled this year, with that number expected The panel also contains experienced profes- in the Company, taking his interest to approxi-
to drop only slightly below 800 in 2021. These sionals who will enrich the discussions with on mately 24%, on May 7, 2020.
numbers, however, represent a drop of over 25% the ground experiences on how they are steer- Adekolapo Ademola joined the Company
compared to 2019. ing their companies to take advantage of existing as Non-Executive Director on April 7, 2020, as
Similarly, capital expenditure is also expected opportunities in the African oil and gas sector a designate of Midwestern Oil & Gas Company
to reduce by over 25% between 2019 and 2021. and what plans they have going forward. Ltd. Bill Higgs and Mark Phillips resigned as
An estimated $28bn is expected to be spent on As many African countries continue to bend Non-Executive Directors in May and June 2020
upstream capital expenditure projects in 2021, over backwards to encourage exploration and respectively.
with over $10bn of that dedicated to field devel- drilling, especially of new licenses, what other The Company entered into an agreement
opment projects. This continues to present sig- concessions are companies looking for, to take dated April 6, 2020 amending the existing Loan
nificant opportunities for companies involved up new exploration activity? Nigeria, for exam- Notes Instrument between San Leon and Mid-
in the upstream value chain like drilling and ple, is currently going through a marginal field western Leon Petroleum Ltd (MLPL). Under the
geophysical contractors. “Those service provid- bidding round, which will lead to the award of terms of the Amendment, $40.0mn was received
ers, that are able to adapt to the new market con- numerous licenses in 2021. What incentives immediately by San Leon, with the remaining
ditions by implementing effective cost control need to be availed, to the new license holders, balance payable being approximately $82.2mn
solutions and streamlining processes, especially to enable them to deploy exploration capital in plus interest. A further $10.0mn is expected to
with the help of technology will thrive and grow the quickest and most effective manner possible? be settled on or before October 6, 2020, with the
at the expense of those companies that are slow Finally, the webinar will also examine how balance of the Loan Notes receivable to be paid
to adapt to the new market realities,” said Verner Africa currently compares to other oil and gas in three quarterly instalments, commencing July
Ayukegba, SVP at the African Energy Chamber. producing regions and what African countries 2021 and completing by December 2021.
“The AEC position in Angola has not need to do to develop and grow their competi- Corporate, post balance sheet: On August 3,
changed: we continue to see opportunities in tive edge vis-a-vis other oil and gas producing 2020, the Company provided a $15.0mn loan
Angola and believe it’s important to shine a light regions globally. and acquired a 10% interest in Energy Link
on these and bring industry players from across African Energy Chamber, September 23 2020 Infrastructure (Malta), or ELI. ELI’s sole asset is
the globe to exploit these as we face this challeng- the proposed new Alternative Crude Oil Evac-
ing situation together, and overcome. Angola’s uation System (ACOES) constructed to pro-
oil and gas industry is a well-developed one, but PERFORMANCE vide a dedicated oil export route from the OML
it’s absolutely clear that we will need to always 18 asset. Once commissioned, the system is
innovate and collaborate in order to remain rel- Nigeria-focused San Leon expected by Eroton to reduce the downtime and
evant for the years to come. Our key role at the allocated pipeline losses to below 10%.
African Energy Chamber is to be the voice of Energy releases report on On September 1, 2020, the Company
the African energy industry and this is a prime announced that it had conditionally agreed
example of how we do that. It’s a unique chance interim results to invest $7.5mn by way of a loan to Decklar
to make connections and hear more about the Petroleum, which is the holder of a Risk Service
landscape of the African energy sector,” con- San Leon Energy, the independent oil and gas Agreement (RSA) with Millenium Oil and Gas
cluded Sergio Pugliese, Angola President for the production, development and exploration Co. on the Oza field onshore Nigeria. Under the
African Energy Chamber. company focused on Nigeria, has announced agreements, once completed, the Company will
The International Association of Geophysical its unaudited interim results for the six months also receive a 15% interest in Decklar for a nom-
Contractors (IAGC) and the International Asso- ended June 30, 2020, and provided an update on inal amount paid.
ciation of Drilling Contractors (IADC) repre- its indirect interest in OML 18, a world-class oil Allenby Capital Limited was appointed as
sentatives on the panel will talk about emerging and gas block located onshore in Nigeria. Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker on July 31,
industry trends, technological developments in Highlights, corporate: Completed the return 2020, after the reporting period.
the industry, new standards and regulations that of approximately $35.3mn to shareholders dur- Financial: Cash and cash equivalents as
affect their members and possible changes in ing the first half of 2020 delivering on the Com- at June 30, 2020, of $35.6mn (June 30, 2019:
legislation that are likely to affect their members pany’s commitment to shareholder returns. $12.2mn).

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