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and Morocco. Future plans involve exporting to
South Africa and some Asian countries.
It is expected that gas and energy activities
in Algeria will provide STEP with a competitive
price advantage for exports. Laghrour noted that
global market needs would exceed 80mn tpy.
STEP leads the petrochemical project com-
mon to both Total and Sonatrach located in the
wilaya of Oran, 400 km west of Algiers.
bna/IntelliNews, 21 February 2023
Zenith Energy fails in bid

for new 25-year licence to

operate Tilapia oilfield

Zenith Energy has provided an update on its
business activities in the Republic of the Congo
An investigation by the British daily found that in Egypt. The two parties are particularly eyeing (ROC).
Prigozhin’s businesses in Africa and Syria earned the possibility of the decarbonisation of Shell’s Zenith had previously announced the suc-
hundreds of millions of US dollars from oil, gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Idku cessful completion of an Inquiry of Public Utility
diamond and gold extraction. This money has through capturing and storing the carbon diox- (Enquête d’Utilité Publique, or IPU), involving
helped him fund Wagner, which is sanctioned by ide in a depleted reservoir situated in the Abu an in-depth technical and financial review of the
the US as a “transnational criminal organisation.” Qir concession in the offshore Mediterranean, Company performed by the Ministry of Hydro-
Despite numerous Western sanctions, and operated by Energean. Future development carbons of ROC, on February 10, 2021.
Wagner has managed to continue its natural stages will enable the facility to take emissions The purpose of the IPU was, in accordance
resources businesses in Africa and the Middle from other industrial emitters such as Abu Qir with local law, to determine Zenith’s suitability
East with little impact. Fertilisers. for the award of a new 25-year licence to oper-
According to accounts seen by the FT, The proposed partnership is addressing a ate the Tilapia oilfield following confirmation,
Prigozhin-controlled companies often appeared major carbon capture and storage (CCS) feasi- announced by the Company on December 23,
to switch their operations to other entities, antic- bility challenge, which is the ability to connect 2020, regarding the successful bid submitted
ipating Western moves to shut them down – for sizeable carbon emitters to an adequate geolog- by Zenith Energy Congo for the award of a new
example, Mercury LLC, an oil company operat- ical structure. Energean will build on its experi- 25-year licence to operate the Tilapia oilfield.
ing in Syria sanctioned in 2021 that generated ence in designing a CCS solution in a depleted The Company has now become aware that
sales of $67mn in the three years before the hydrocarbons field in the Abu Qir concession, a company named Olive Energy E&P has been
designation. mirroring the ongoing process in Prinos, Greece. awarded a licence to operate the Tilapia oilfield.
Prior to 2022, Prigozhin denied creating bna/IntelliNews, 22 February 2023 The Company is disappointed by this devel-
Wagner and even sued several Russian and opment, which contradicts the aforementioned
Western outlets for suggesting he was linked to Sonatrach, Total to build milestones.
the PMC. He has since openly discussed recruit- The Company announces that it has engaged
ing for the mercenary group and has publicly Algerian petchem plant a legal representative to negotiate the full repay-
celebrated its victories in Ukraine and Africa. ment of an original principal amount of $5.3mn
As well as Wagner being sanctioned, A joint venture between French oil group Total plus accrued interest owed by Société Nationale
Prigozhin is also personally sanctioned by a and Algerian energy producer Sonatrach plans des Pétroles du Congo (SNPC), the national oil
number of countries, including the UK, US, to begin construction on a polypropylene (PP) company of ROC, to Anglo African Oil & Gas
Canada, Australia and the EU. plant in Algeria this July. Congo (AAOGC), a fully owned subsidiary of
bna/IntelliNews, 22 February 2023 Abbes Laghrour, head of the joint venture, the Company, for past work performed during
Sonatrach Total Entreprise Polymeres (STEP), the Tilapia I licence.
made the announcement in a statement on Mon- Zenith confirms that the legal claim launched
PROJECTS & COMPANIES day, February 20. by AAOGC against Société de Maintenance
Last year, STEP said last year it would invest Pétrolière (SMP), the rig contractor employed to
Shell partners with €1.4bn in the facility, with the budget being perform drilling services in wells TLP-103 and
matched 51% by the Algerian company and TLP-103C of the Tilapia oilfield during 2018-
Energean on CCS project 49% by its French counterpart. It is not yet clear 2019, is progressing in the Paris Commercial
whether the investment figure has been updated.
Court.
for Idku LNG facility tonnes per year (tpy) of homopolymer. amount for the performance failures by SMP
The Company has increased the claimed
The new plant is expected to produce 550,000
UK-based Energean’s Egyptian subsidiary has The production of the new plant will be during drilling activities to $9mn in considera-
signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) directed to the local market, with plans to export tion of the significant commercial damages suf-
with Anglo-Dutch oil major Shell to explore nearly 50% of the production to Europe and fered by AAOGC, specifically the impossibility
mutually beneficial decarbonisation solutions North Africa, especially neighbouring Tunisia to begin production activities, as a direct result.

P18 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 08 23•February•2023