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“We’ve pursued [TOR] for some time to pay the offices regarding the repayment of debt, with Joy
bill, but unfortunately, all our [efforts were] not News quoting sources as saying that the parties
yielding, so we were compelled to cut the lines,” had agreed on a plan that would see payments
according to the leader of a taskforce set up to starting at $81,000 per month in December and
recover the missing payment. He added that then rising once TOR’s operations ramped up
ECG would restore power only if the state refin- in 2022. The latest figures from Ghana’s Finance
ery paid at least 30% of the debt. However, Joy Ministry show that the country’s state-owned
News reported that TOR had expressed surprise enterprises operated at a total loss of GHS5bn
over ECG’s actions. ($795mn) in 2020, with TOR included in this
The two companies held talks in ECG’s Accra figure. ™

Shell reportedly set to delay Bonga

Southwest Aparo by another two years

NIGERIA SOURCES at Nigerian National Petroleum Shell and NNPC speculated that the timeline for
Corp. (NNPC) and Shell (UK) have told S&P Bonga Southwest Aparo might also have been
Global Platts that the start date for the Bonga affected by the multinational’s plans to retool its
Southwest Aparo project had been pushed back upstream business in order to reduce its net car-
by another two years. bon dioxide emissions to zero by 2050.
Shell and its partners in the Shell Petroleum Shell is currently the largest producer of
Development Co. (SPDC) joint venture had crude oil in Nigeria. However, it has announced
finalised a deal with state-owned NNPC on the plans to sell its onshore assets in the West Afri-
development of Southwest Bonga Aparo, a uni- can country, and it has a tense relationship with
tised site that is a section of the Bonga offshore Nigerian authorities, owing to concerns about
oilfield in OML 118, in May 2021. At that time, the security of its facilities and its investments.
the signing of that agreement looked like a step The cost of developing Bonga Southwest
forward, as the project had been put on hold Aparo has been estimated at $10bn. Shell wants
because of tax disputes between Shell and the to develop the field, which holds around 1bn
government. It also cleared the way for SPDC to barrels of crude oil, in three phases. ™
call a tender for the construction of a new float-
ing production, storage and off-loading (FPSO)
vessel for deployment at the deepwater site.
According to a senior source inside NNPC,
however, the response to the bidding contest for
the 150,000 barrel per day (bpd) FPSO has been
lacklustre. “There has been a delay in progress-
ing with the tendering process for the Bonga
Southwest field,” he told Platts. “The tenders
have been put on hold till around 2024.”
When contacted by Platts, a spokesman for
SPDC confirmed that the joint venture had put
the FPSO contract on hold but did not com-
ment further. However, sources inside both Rendering of FPSO proposed for Bonga SW Aparo project (Image: Doris Group)

Afentra still in negotiations with Sonangol

ANGOLA AIM-LISTED Afentra has reported that it is much progress had been made since it had
still in negotiations with Angola’s national oil begun negotiations after submitting its expres-
company (NOC) Sonangol on the acquisition sion of interest (EoI), a move that led trading in
of stakes in Block 3/05 and Block 23. its shares to be suspended. The firm described
Afentra issued a statement confirming that the talks as “ongoing” but stressed that there was
it was still discussing the offshore assets with “no guarantee at this stage that an agreement
Sonangol on February 4. It did not reveal how between the two companies will be reached.”

Week 06 09•February•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P9