Read more
Lekela has announced the signature of a grant agreement with the United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to fund a feasibility study for an extension of its Parc Eolien Taiba N’Diaye (PETN). The 158.8 MW wind farm started commercial operations in December 2019 and is West Africa’s biggest wind energy facility. “The feasibility study, which is expected to be completed within 15 months, will be jointly financed by Lekela and DFC. The study covers an area west of the existing wind farm and will consist of a wind measurement campaign, a network study, an environmental impact study and other on-site surveys,” Lekela said in a statement. In September 2020, Lekela had also been awarded a grant from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) to fund a feasibility study in partnership with state-utility Senelec for Senegal’s first grid-scale battery electric storage system at PETN wind farm. The initial Taiba Ndiaye wind power project already benefited from strong government support and financial backing, especially from the U.S. Government, Denmark’s Export Credit Agency and the World Bank. This allowed its quick development, and commissioning in late 2019. More importantly, the facility has a base tariff equivalent to $0.11/kWh, hence contributing to the reduction of electricity generation costs in Senegal, where prices can go as high as $0.30/kWh. Details on the Taiba Ndiaye Wind Farm are available in the “Projects” section within your Hawilti+ research terminal.
After months of negotiations and site visits, Savannah Energy has announced the execution of share purchase agreements (SPAs) worth $626m with ExxonMobil and PETRONAS to acquire their oil & gas assets in Cameroon and Chad. The deals will see the British independent gaining a combined 75% controlling interest in the Doba Oil Project and 70% indirect controlling interest in the Chad-Cameroon oil export transportation system. Chevron had previously sold its 25% interest in the Doba Oil Project and 21% interest in the pipeline system in 2014 to the Government of Chad for $1.3bn. While negotiations with ExxonMobil had been announced earlier this year, the acquisition of PETRONAS’ interests in both countries was not expected. The transaction will see Savannah Energy expand its African portfolio, which already comprises upstream oil operations in Niger and upstream and midstream gas operations in Nigeria. The ExxonMobil Acquisition – $360m Savannah Energy is acquiring ExxonMobil’s entire upstream and midstream asset portfolio in Chad and Cameroon for $360m. The acquisition will be funded through a mixture of debt and equity/equity-linked financing and the SPA has an economic effective date of January 1st, 2021. Concretely, Savannah Energy is acquiring a 40% interest and operatorship of the Doba Oil Project, an onshore oil business with a production of 33,700 barrels of oil per day (bopd) in 2020. It is also acquiring a 40% indirect interest in the Chad-Cameroon oil export transportation system, that comprises the 1,081km Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline and the Kome Kribi 1 floating, storage and offloading (FSO) vessel offshore Cameroon. Last year, the pipeline transportated an average of 129,200 bopd. The facilities have been operating since 2003 and the pipeline remains the only evacuation route for Chad’s oil and is used by several operators. According to Hawilti’s research, the current list of pipeline beneficiaries include China National Petroleum Corporation International Chad, Cliveden, Royalty In Kind, Société des Hydrocarbures du Tchad (SHT), ExxonMobil, Petronas, Petro Chad Mangara, Glencore and Petroleum Chad Company Limited. The PETRONAS Acquisition – $266m Secondly, Savannah Energy is further consolidating its interest in the same assets by also acquiring PETRONAS’ entire upstream and midstream asset portfolio in Chad and Cameroon. The transaction is valued at $266m and the SPA also has an economic effective date of January 1st, 2021. Under this second transaction, Savannah Energy is acquiring an additional 35% interest in the Doba Oil Project and an additional 30% indirect interest in the Chad-Cameroon oil export transportation system. As a result of both acquisitions, Savannah Energy is acquiring a combined 75% controlling interest in the Doba Oil Project and 70% indirect controlling interest in the Chad-Cameroon oil export transportation system. The remaining interests are owned by the national oil companies of Chad and Cameroon. Details on the Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project are available in the “Projects” section within your Hawilti+ research terminal.
