Page 12 - AfrOil Week 20 2020

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 Indeed, it pointed out that it had not been able to uphold the terms of the agreement, since the Algerian government had turned down its offer.
“The PSA provided that the sale of the Ghana assets was conditional upon the completion of the Algeria assets’ sale,” the French company explained. “Occidental has informed Total that, as part of an understanding with the Algerian authorities on the transfer of Anadarko’s inter- ests to Occidental, Occidental would not be in a position to sell its interests in Algeria.”
Total went on to say that abandoning the sale would allow it to maximise its own finan- cial flexibility at a time of great volatility in world oil markets. This course of action will also prevent the company from being saddled with
non-operating interests in the Ghanaian assets, it added.
Patrick Pouyanné, Total’s chairman and CEO, stressed these points. “This decision not to pursue the completion of the purchase of the Ghana assets consolidates the group’s efforts in the control of its net investments this year and provides financial flexibility to face the uncer- tainties and opportunities linked to the current environment,” he said.
The PSA signed between Total and Occiden- tal is due to expire in September of this year, but the latter may seek another buyer before then. The two firms have already signed a waiver that will allow Occidental to begin marketing the Ghanaian assets to other potential buyers. ™
Uganda hopes Total will reach FID stage by
August
UGANDA
UGANDAN Energy Minister Goretti Kitutu has said she hopes France’s Total will make a final investment decision (FID) on a group of oil projects worth $10bn within the next few months.
Speaking at a ceremony marking the launch of the Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU), Kitutu said that Kampala expected the French company and its partner China National Off- shore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) to reach this mile- stone by August, or by the end of 2020 at the latest. Total will have a clear path to FID once it finalises the acquisition of Tullow Oil’s stakes in the components of the project, she was quoted as saying by The Monitor.
She went on to say that Uganda’s government was working to facilitate that transaction. Mem- bers of the cabinet must approve the deal before the government officially endorses it, and Kam- pala is now “waiting for this clearance,” she said.
Kitutu did not say when these milestones might be reached. She did indicate, though, that she did not expect any further delays in oil production.
Tullow (UK/Ireland) arranged to sell its assets in Uganda to Total for $575mn last month. The deal will see the French take ownership of Tullow’s 33.3% stakes in Blocks 1, 1A, 2 and 3A, all of which lie near Lake Albert in western Uganda. Tullow has been serving as operator of Block 2, while Total is operating Blocks 1 and 1A and CNOOC operates Block 3A. Development of these blocks, which contain the Kingfisher and Tilenga oilfields, is likely to require about $6.7bn worth of investments.
Total will also acquire Tullow’s 33.3% stake in the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project, which aims to establish an export route
for Ugandan crude. As a result, it will join Uganda and Tanzania in building a $3.55bn pipeline along a 1,445-km route from Hoima, a city near the Lake Albert oilfields, to Tanga, a port on the shore of the Indian Ocean. When finished, the link will be able to handle 216,000 barrels per day (bpd). ™
Total hopes to develop the Kingfisher and Tilenga oilfields (Image: Tullow)
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 20 20•May•2020