Natural Gas Upstream Hawilti+ 

OML 113 transferred to new operating vehicle as partners prepare for gas redevelopment offshore Lagos

The Tamara Nanaye FPSO (former Front Puffin) successfully produced oil from Aje from 2016 to 2021.

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After two years of delay, the Nigerian authorities have finally approved PetroNor’s acquisition of Panoro Energy’s subsidiaries in Nigeria, Pan-Petroleum Services Holding BV and Pan-Petroleum Nigeria Holding. The deal was initially inked in October 2019 and had been awaiting government consent since then.

Through this acquisition, PetroNor is acquiring Pan Petroleum Aje Ltd, which holds a 6.502% participating interest and 16.255% cost bearing interest in OML 113. This represents a total economic interest of 12.1913% in the license that contains the Aje field offshore Lagos, which produced oil from 2016 to 2021 via the Tamara Nanaye FPSO.

Source: DRPC/NUPRC

Along with the completion of the acquisition, the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has also given consent for the transfer of OML 113 to Aje Petroleum AS, a special purpose vehicle owned by Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum (YFP, 55%) and PetroNor (45%). Under the deal, PetroNor will serve as the new technical operator for the redevelopment of Aje into a gas project, on behalf of YFP.

The Field Development Plan (FDP) for the new Turonian Aje gas project on OML 113 aims at increasing production to 15,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) via the drilling of two new gas producers and one oil producer. It is notably being planned along with the replacement of the Tamara Nanaye FPSO with a new unit able to process increased liquids production and up to 110 MMscfd of gas. This new FPSO could even become a regional field center since it is located around substantial proven resources such as Albian but especially Ogo, a world-class discovery on the neighbouring OPL 310 operated by Optimum Petroleum.

The latest plans available had a projected production peak of 26,000 boepd in 2025, with most incremental production being made of gas reserved for power generation and exports through the nearby West Africa Gas Pipeline (WAGP), or supporting LNG production. The partners have set OPEX at about $30m a year, including FPSO bareboat, Operation & Maintenance and G&A. The project is currently at FEED stage and is expecting FID in 2022 at the earliest.

Meanwhile, the Tamara Nanaye FPSO stopped producing from the Aje field in November 2021. Hawilti reported earlier this year on its research terminal that the vessel is being refurbished before redeployment at the Kalaekule field on OML 72. It will continue to be operated and maintained by Nigerian services conglomerate Century Group.

Details on the development of OML 113 offshore Lagos are available in the “Projects” section within your Hawilti+ research terminal.

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TotalEnergies takes FID on $10bn of oil projects in Uganda, 16 years after first discovery

TotalEnergies, CNOOC and the Uganda National Oil Co. have taken a final investment decision (FID) today on the development of onshore oilfields around the Lake Albert in Uganda, and a massive export pipeline to Tanzania. The first discovery was made in January 2006 by Hardman Resources at the Mputa-1 well. Since then, over 1.4bn barrels of recoverable oil have been proven in the area. However, repeated tax disputes with the Government of Uganda and lack of refining and export infrastructure constantly delayed their development. The project was put back on the table only in April 2020 when authorities agreed the sale of TullowOil’s entire assets in Uganda to TotalEnergies for $575m. This sale was officially completed in November 2020, making TotalEnergies operator of most discoveries and finally paving the way for a final investment decision (FID). TotalEnergies is now operator of the Tilenga oil project, where first oil is expected in 2025 with a peak production projected at 190,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd). The Tilenga project covers six oil fields within Contract Area CA1, License Area LA-2 (North) and Exploration Area EA-1A, all located within the Albertine Graben in Western Uganda. Plans for the project include the drilling of 426 wells from 31 well pad locations, supported by a network of underground pipelines to collect oil production and transport it to a 200,000 bopd central processing facility (CPF) built within the planned Industrial Area in the Buliisa District. Once treated at the CPF, oil will be exported via the 1,443 km East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) that will terminate at an oil depot and an offshore loading terminal in Tanga, Tanzania. On its side, CNOOC is operator of the Kingfisher oil project with a projected peak output of 40,000 bopd. Advancing the project’s low-cost and low emissions, TotalEnergies was able to fast-track the FID and get it approved less than two years after it acquired its operated interest from TullowOil. “The design of the facilities incorporates several measures to limit greenhouse gas emissions well below 20 kg CO2eq/boe, including the extraction of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for use in regional markets as a substitute for burning biomass, and the solarization of the EACOP pipeline,” the company said in a statement. In parallel, the Government of Uganda is also hoping to build a 60,000 bpd refinery on site to process its domestic crude. The Project Framework Agreement was signed with the consortium comprising YAATRA, BHGE, LionWorks, and Saipem in 2018 to develop, finance, construct and operate the greenfield oil refinery. Full details on the Tilenga Oil Project and the EACOP pipeline project are available in the “Projects” section within your Hawilti+ research terminal.

Burkina Faso: President Kabore ousted in a military coup

After Mali and Guinea, Burkina Faso is yet another West African country that witnessed a military coup over the weekend. Confirming several rumous, the army had declared yesterday that it has ousted President Kabore. Citing the deterioration of the security situation, including the rising Islamist insurgency, the army has halso suspended the constitution, dissolved the government and the national assembly, and closed Burkina Faso’s borders. The statement was signed by Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba and made in the name of the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration, a previously unheard-of entity.