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He asserted that the draft legislation would pro- interbedded with shale.
tect Nigeria’s interests while also facilitating out- Eni, after conducting two mini drill stem
side investment. tests (DSTs) and acquiring fluid samples, esti-
Elsewhere in Africa, Angola’s government mates the Ken Bau accumulation holds 7-9 tril-
has offered tax breaks for nine blocks that are due lion cubic feet (198.24bn cubic metres) of gas
to be auctioned off in the near future. Officials in in place and 400-500mn barrels of associated
Luanda said last week that local companies that condensate.
win the tenders for these onshore licence areas Last July, Eni said Ken Bau 1X had also
will pay a petroleum income tax of 30% instead encountered several intervals of gas and con-
of the usual rate of 50%. densate sandstone interbedded with Miocene
Meanwhile, Mozambique’s national oil com- age shale. It estimated at the time that the net
pany (NOC) ENH and its partner, Malaysia’s reservoir was more than 100 metres thick. The Angola’s
Energi Mega Persada, have cited the coronavirus first well, drilled to a total depth of 3,606 metres, government has
(COVID-19) pandemic as the reason for their was plugged and abandoned before it reached its
decision to suspend oil and gas exploration in the targeted depth owing to technical issues. offered local
Buzi district. Public health measures designed to The Italian developer said it would plug and
curb the spread of the outbreak have disrupted abandon the well. In addition to plans for addi- firms tax breaks
the movement of personnel and the delivery tional drilling and testing on the discovery, Eni
of goods and equipment to the work site, they said it also intends to conduct new drilling and if they win the
explained. seismic activity in the wider basin, where it owns right to explore
South Sudan’s oil industry has also been hit a 100% operated interest in the neighbouring
hard by the pandemic. According to Awow Dan- Block 116. and develop nine
iel Chuang, the undersecretary of the country’s Eni has a 50% operated stake in Block 114,
Ministry of Petroleum, the virus has disrupted which is located in the Song Hong Basin, while onshore blocks
operations at a number of oilfields, bringing ESSAR E&P holds the remaining interest.
output levels down by 20,000 barrels per day to Commenting on marketing options, Eni
170,000 bpd. It has also postponed the commis- said Vietnam’s gas market had expanded rap-
sioning of an 8,000 bpd oil refinery near Juba, idly thanks to consistent GDP growth and the
the capital city. development of gas-fired thermal power plants
(TPPs). The company said the Ken Bau discov-
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping ery could potentially provide a fast-track solu-
Asia’s oil and gas sector then please click here for tion to meet the increasing energy demand.
NewsBase’s AfrOil Monitor.
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
Asia: Eni strikes gas off Vietnam Asia’s oil and gas sector then please click here for
Italian major Eni’s second exploration well on NewsBase’s AsianOil Monitor.
Block 114 offshore Vietnam has confirmed a
significant natural gas and condensate discovery DMEA: refining contracts, pricing reforms
that was first announced in 2019. Six international contractors are vying for tech-
Eni said on July 27 that the Ken Bau-2X nical consultancy work at Kuwait’s al-Ahmadi
exploration well was drilled in 95 metres of oil refinery, according to local press. US firms
water to a total depth of 3,658 metres below sea Worley Parsons, Fluor and KBC, the UK’s Amec
level. The well, which is located 2 km from Ken Foster Wheeler, Japan’s Toyo and France’s Tech-
Bau 1X, encountered more than 110 metres of nip have all been pre-qualified for the contract,
pay in several intervals of Miocene sandstones which relates to various upgrade projects.

Week 30 30•July•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P7