Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Mergers & Acquisitions Hawilti+ 

Amethis successfully exits Burkina Faso’s leading LPG distributor

Photo credit: Sodigaz APC

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Following its investment in Burkina Faso’s leading LPG distributor Sodigaz APC in 2017, Amethis has just sold its 22% stake in the company to African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM).

Over the years, Sodigaz has built a 60% market share of Burkina Faso’s LPG distribution market and currently relies on a network of 2,200 gas resellers. Since its beginning in 1977, the company has grown to a 780-employee structure known for its commitment to gender equality.

The entry of AIIM into Sodigaz’ capital takes place as West Africa’s LPG market experiences significant growth. As a result, the company has recorded an annual growth rate of over 14% over the past four years and expanded into neighbouring countries such as Benin.

As West Africa’s middle class expands and governments seek to fight deforestation and promote public health, the demand for a clean cooking fuel such as LPG is on the rise. This is a trend that applies to the rest of the region and is increasingly generating the interest of investors, especially private equity players. Earlier this year for instance, Investisseurs & Partenaires’ fund I&P Afrique Entrepreneurs 2 made a $3m equity investment in XpressGas, Ghana’s fastest growing LPG distributor.

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Somoil targets 50% increase in production onshore Angola by 2024

Angolan junior Sociedade Petrolífera Angolana (SOMOIL) has contracted the FALCON 1000HP drilling rig for drilling activities at the FS and FST license onshore Angola. Operations will last about three years and will mostly focus on workover and wells repair along with the re-entry of existing wells and the drilling and completion of new wells. In order to increase production, SOMOIL is notably expected to target the Pinda reservoir and expects to reach an average daily output of 10,500 barrels of oil per day (bopd) within three years. In the first half of 2021, the FS-FST license exported 348,107 barrels (or a daily average of about 1,900 bopd), according to data from the Ministry of Finance. SOMOIL is also the operator of block 2/05, offshore, and participates in the contractor groups of blocks 3/05, 3/05th, 4/05 and 17/06.

Maersk wins Mooring System contract on Kome-Kribi 1 FSO in Cameroon

Maersk Supply Service has just been awarded a contract by the Cameroon Oil Transportation Company (COTCO) for Phase 2 of the mooring system maintenance project on the Kome-Kribi 1 FSO (Kome-Kribi 1 Marine Terminal) offshore Douala. The marine terminal forms the last part of the 1,070km Chad-Cameroon Oil Export Pipeline that evacuates Chad’s oil to global markets.  Under the project, Maersk Supply Service will replace two link arms on a yoke mooring system on the Kome-Kribi 1 Marine Termina. This notably follows Phase 1 of the project, during which Maersk Supply Service had already carried out the design, engineering, procurement and installation of a temporary redundancy system. The contract comprises of the full project management and engineering and the two-month offshore operations, which are scheduled to commence in Q4 2022. They will require an I-class Subsea Support Vessel (SSV) from the Maersk Supply Service fleet, as well as two Anchor Handling Tug Supply (AHTS) vessels, which will also be employed for station keeping of the FSO. Despite being under-utilised, the Chad-Cameroon Pipeline continues to generate revenue for the State of Cameroon with transit fees standing at FCFA 11.59bn ($21m) between January and April 2021. Details on the Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project are available in the “Projects” section within your Hawilti+ research terminal.