Page 7 - AfrOil Week 39 2021

AfrOil INVESTMENT AfrOil

Shell has unloaded assets in Egypt’s Western Desert (Image: Cairn Energy)

Cairn and Cheiron Petroleum complete

acquisition of Shell’s onshore Egypt assets

EGYPT CAIRN Energy, an independent UK-based The exact amount of these payments will be
energy company, together with its Cairo-head- contingent on world crude oil prices, as well as
quartered consortium partner Cheiron Petro- the results of further exploration activities, Shell
leum, has completed the acquisition, after noted.
receiving regulatory approval, of a portfolio of The super-major had a gas-weighted port-
upstream oil and gas production, development folio in onshore Egypt with assets offering
and exploration assets from two subsidiaries of low-cost production, near-term development,
Royal Dutch Shell (UK/Netherlands). owned infrastructure and significant explora-
The deal will see the partners take control tion potential.
of assets formerly assigned to Shell Egypt and “With this transaction Shell is refocusing its
Shell Austria in Egypt’s onshore Western Desert business in Egypt on our existing infrastruc-
region, Shell said in a statement. The transac- ture position in the West Delta Deep Marine
tion has effectively been backdated to January (WDDM), the Harmattan Deep Project and
1, 2020, it added. Exploration acreage in the new seven blocks in
Capricorn Egypt, a wholly owned subsidi- the Nile Delta, West Mediterranean and the Red
ary of Cairn, and Cheiron Petroleum are each Sea; in Midstream through our Egyptian LNG
acquiring 50% of the assets for a total base con- (ELNG) joint-venture; and in Downstream
sideration of $646mn and additional payments through Shell Lubricants Egypt (SLE),” the state-
of up to $280mn between 2021 and 2024. ment said. ™

Angola awards nine blocks

in onshore licensing round

ANGOLA ANGOLA’S National Oil, Gas and Biofuels blocks. Somoil will lead work at CON-1 and
Agency (ANPG) has identified the winners of will work with Intank Group (US) there, it said,
the recently concluded bidding contests cov- while Mineral One will operate CON-6, Simples
ering nine onshore blocks in the Kwanza and Oil KON-6, Alfort Petroleum KON-8 and AIS
Lower Congo basins. Angola KON-9.
In a statement, ANPG said it had named The agency went on to say that both Somoil
MTI Energy (Canada) as the operator of four of and Mineral One would be non-operating part-
the blocks – namely CON-5, KON-5, KON-17 ners in other projects, along with seven other
and KON-20. MTI will work with Brite’s Oil & Angolan companies – Monka Oil, Omega, Pro-
Gas (US) at KON-17 and KON-20, it noted. doil, Prodiam, Servicab, Upitec and Sonangol
ANPG further stated that it had chosen P&P, an affiliate of the national oil company
Angolan companies to operate the other five (NOC) Sonangol.

Week 39 29•September•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P7