Page 7 - AfrOil Week 50 2019

AfrOil PERFORMANCE AfrOil
 The discovery confirms SEP’s position as the first independent Ghanaian company to drill and find commercial reserves in the offshore zone.
Kevin Okyere, the company’s CEO, com- mented: “This is great news for Springfield, Ghana and Africa. We are excited about the dis- covery, as it ties into our vision of becoming a leading African upstream player with a global focus. This, for us, means increased opportuni- ties to impact the lives of our people positively with the resources.”
Dr. K.K. Sarpong, the CEO of GNPC, also expressed satisfaction with SEP’s work. “As the national oil company of Ghana, GNPC is proud of this feat, chalked in this all-Ghanaian part- nership,” he said. “This achievement fits into GNPC’s strategic pillars of ‘replacing and grow- ing reserves’ as well as ‘enhancing sustainabil- ity through local content development’ ... This discovery demonstrates once again the high prospectivity of Ghana’s sedimentary basins and the Ghanaian capacity to deliver, given the o p p o r t u n i t y .” ™
POLICY
Algeria’s new president seen aiming for more oil and gas investment
ALGERIA
ALGERIA’S government is likely to continue seeking foreign investment for oil and gas pro- jects following the election of Abdelmadjid Teb- boune as president of Algeria.
Tebboune, who served briefly as the coun- try’s prime minister in 2017, was declared the winner of the presidential race on December 13. His predecessor, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, stepped down from office earlier this year in response to wide-ranging street demonstrations by critics of the government.
The president-elect faces a tough uphill climb, as Algeria’s finances are strained. The country depends on oil and gas exports for about 95% of total state revenues, but sales to foreign buyers have suffered in recent years. Just since the beginning of 2019, export volumes have dropped by 12.5%.
These declines stem partly from the oil price crash that began in mid-2014 and partly from a decline in European demand for pipeline deliv- eries of natural gas. Algeria – and, by extension, its new president – has few options for restoring its income stream, so its best bet is to cultivate new deals with international oil companies (IOCs).
Meanwhile, the caretaker regime that took control following Bouteflika’s departure has
approved new plans to smooth IOCs’ path toward investment. It has streamlined the process of establishing co-operation with Sonatrach, Algeria’s NOC, and it has approved rules that allow foreign operators to acquire majority shares in projects that do not involve so-called “strategic sector” considerations.
Additionally, it has drawn up a new hydro- carbon law.
Tebboune may have some difficulty tak- ing advantage of these reforms. He is widely believed by Hirak, the opposition movement that has led many of this year’s protests, to have unacceptably close ties to Ahmed Gaid Salah and the other military officials that assumed control after Bouteflika quit.
As a result, if he strikes any new agreements that are widely seen as too favourable to IOCs, he is likely to be criticised harshly. At the same time, he will also have the task of reassuring potential investors that the country is now stable enough to justify significant outlays on explora- tion and development.
He may also focus on trying to bring outside investors into Algeria’s expanding shale gas sec- tor. The North African state has estimated its shale gas reserves, which are mostly untapped, at around 277tn cubic metres. ™
Algeria’s new president, Abdelmadjid Tabboune (Photo: Sada El Balad)
Week 50 18•December•2019 w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m P7