Read more
Africa Oil Corp.’s acquisition of a 50% interest in Petrobras Oil and Gas B.V (POGBV, now known as Prime) in 2020 for $520m is paying off. The Canadian independent has just become cash positive in Q3 2021, reporting a net cash position of over $15m. The performance was made possible thanks to AOC’s exposure to some of Nigeria’s biggest deep-water fields. When the Canadian independent acquired a 50% interest of POGBV last year, it benefited from an indirect 8% interest in the Chevron-operated OML 127 and 16% indirect interest in the TotalEnergies-operated OML 130 offshore Nigeria. These blocks contain the Agbami, Akpo and Egina deepwater fields, three of the continent’s biggest producing assets. Source: Africa Oil Corp. AOC started earning dividends from Q1 2020 onwards and benefited this year from the strong rebound in oil prices and the gradual lifting of OPEC quotas. Its average daily working interest production stood at 27,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in Q3 2021, generating two dividends worth $112.5m from Prime during the period. Since completing the acquisition of a 50% shareholding in Prime in January 2020, Africa Oil has already received nine dividends from Prime for a total amount of $350m. As a result, AOC was able to significantly reduce its corporate debt facility to only $23m, up from $141m at the start of the year. The company’s stock performance echoes that of its balance sheet. Its shares were trading at CAS$2.07 this morning, up from CAD$1.23 at the start of the year. Details on Africa Oil Corp’s projects across Africa along with the company’s financial and operational performances are available in the “Companies” section within your Hawilti+ research terminal.
Earlier today, Eni held the naming and sail away ceremony of the Coral-Sul floating LNG (FLNG) vessel in South Korea. The event took place at the Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard in Geoje, in the presence of H.E. Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, President of the Republic of Mozambique, and H.E. Moon Jae-in, President of the Republic of Korea. The 3.4 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) FLNG forms part of the Coral South Projec and will be towed and moored at its operating site in the Rovuma basin offshore Mozambique next year. Once the FLNG facility will be in place, the installation campaign will begin, including mooring and hook-up operations at a water-depth of around 2,000 meters by means of 20 mooring lines that totally weight 9,000 tons. Production startup is then expected in the second half of 2022. Coral South Project achieved Final Investment Decision in 2017, only 36 months after the last appraisal well. FLNG fabrication and construction activities started in 2018 and were completed on cost and on time, despite the Covid-19 pandemic. The Coral Sul FLNG is 432 meters long and 66 meters wide, weighs around 220,000 tons and has the capacity to accommodate up to 350 people in its eight-story Living Quarter module. Area 4 is operated by Mozambique Rovuma Venture S.p.A. (MRV), an incorporated joint venture owned by Eni, ExxonMobil and CNPC, which holds a 70% interest in the Area 4 exploration and production concession contract. In addition to MRV, Galp, KOGAS and Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos E.P. each hold a 10% interest in Area 4. Eni is the offshore Delegated Operator and is leading the construction and operation of the floating liquefied natural gas facility on behalf of MRV.
