Page 8 - AfrOil Week 30

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QP lines up Kenya work
KEnyA
QATAR Petroleum (QP) has signed deals with Eni and Total to take stakes in three blocks o shore Kenya. Qatar has been taking a more involved position in somalia of late, with whom Kenya has a maritime border dispute, but these three blocks are not contested.
QP said it had entered the L11A, L11B and L12 blocks in a statement on July 23. e state- backed Qatari company will own a 25% stake in the blocks, while Total will have 33.75% and Eni 41.25%. e Italian company also serves as the operator. e deal requires approval from the Kenyan government. e blocks cover around 15,000 square km, in water depths of 1,000 to 3,000 metres.
e head of QP, saad sherida Al-Kaabi, who is also Qatari Minister of state for Energy A airs, noted the frontier nature of the Kenyan blocks, and said the deal would “further strengthen our presence in Africa”. e o cial went on to express optimism about “collaborating with our valuable partners Eni and Total, and the govern- ment of Kenya in these blocks”.
QP has stepped up its e orts to expand its exploration and production interests around the world in the last couple of years, particularly throughout East Africa. In March of this year it struck a deal with Eni, allowing the Qatari com- pany to enter Block A5-A, in Mozambique’s
Angoche Basin. is followed a deal with Exx- onMobil, in December 2018, on a neighbouring block in the basin.
In February 2018, QP bought into Total’s block o shore south Africa, which early this year was revealed to contain the Brulpadda discov- ery. e Qatari company struck a previous deal with the French company, in 2013, on working in Congo Brazzaville, which has been extremely successful.
Other recent agreements include a deal in Mexico, with Royal Dutch shell, and in Argentina.
Qatar is on the brink of expanding its LNG facilities, which will return the small Middle Eastern state to its position of pre-eminence in the liquefaction sector. While QP does not appear to need foreign investment for such work, bringing in partners will reduce its domes- tic spending needs, allowing it to pursue other opportunities.
In late July, reports emerged in the New york Times appearing to connect Qatar with a bombing in somalia’s port of Bosaso, in order to advance the country’s interests ahead of those of the United Arab Emirates. e report suggested Qatar may be helping Islamist extremists in some parts of somalia, while providing materiel to frustrate them in others.™
dIspUtE:
A dispute between Mogadishu and Nairobi over sea borders has been taken to the international Court of justice. A ruling on this is expected in september. Kenya has licensed some parts of the disputed area, while somalia has also demarcated blocks in the region.
Dana Gas seeks buyer for Egypt assets
Egypt
EGyPTIAN volumes for UAE-based Dana Gas have continued to fall, as a result of elds decline and investment slowing. e company is reported to be working on a plan for the sale of its assets in the North African country. Furthermore, the Merak-1 well was reported this week to have failed to nd commercial hydrocarbons.
Output from the North African country slipped from 39,500 boepd in 2017 to 34,500 boepd in 2018 and assets there were impaired by $59mn. During the rst half, production contin- ued to fall, reaching 34,100 boepd. Outstanding arrears owed by Cairo were reduced by 39% to end 2018 at a still-he y $140mn, despite prom- ises from the government to clear the debt by the end of the period.
In June, the company said it had received $48mn from Egypt for its operations. This included $38mn in government payments and the proceeds of a sale of El Wastani condensate, worth $10mn. During the rst half, receivables
were reduced to $125mn.
On July 27, Dana said its Merak-1 well, in
Block 6 North El Arish, would be plugged and abandoned. e well was drilled in 755 metres and reached a total depth of 3,890 metres. It found 46 metres of Miocene interval but did not nd commercial hydrocarbons.
Against this backdrop, Reuters has reported that Dana had decided to nd a buyer for its Egyptian assets.
e report said that Dana had hired Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. (TPH) to advise on the sale of the assets, which it said were valued at more than $500mn.
Reuters quoted a source close to proceedings as saying that focusing on a single geographical area could appeal to prospective investors.
In Block 6, Dana has said there were at least three more independent prospects with material resources.
Other than Block 6, all of Dana’s Egyptian assets are located in the onshore Nile Delta.™
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 30 30•July•2019