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Eni to start exploratory drilling offshore Congo

The Prospector 5 has been contracted by Eni Congo for a 6-well firm program expected to start in Q4 2022.

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Borr Drilling’s Prospector 5 jackup drilling rig has reached the Central African coast where it is expected to start drilling soon for Eni Congo.

In August 2022, Borr Drilling had announced the signing of a letter of intent worth $68.9m for Prospector 5 to execute a 6-well firm program expected to start in Q4 2022 with a duration of 14 months plus options. Hawilti got confirmation from Eni officials that the rig is indeed mobilized by the major offshore Congo.

The campaign is expected to start with the drilling of two exploratory wells on Marine VI bis, a block operated by Eni in partnership with Congo’s national oil company, SNPC. The block holds several prospects that have been matured over the past few years, including Mbenga, Poalvou Deep, and Ikalou SW. While Eni is yet to reveal which prospect(s) will be targeted, the Prospector 5 is currently heading towards Poalvou, data from Marine Traffic shows.

This will be the second rig mobilized by Eni offshore Congo, data from Hawilti’s Offshore Rigs Tracker shows. The Borr Natt rig has already been contracted by the Italian major since January 2022, under a contract set to end in January 2023, unless options are exercised.

Once exploratory drilling is completed on Marine VI bis, the Prospector 5 will support development drilling on Marine XII, where Eni is developing gas reserves to start exporting LNG next year. The Prospector 5 rig will drill five development wells on Marine XII, according to SNPC.

Market activity has steadily picked up in Congo over the past year, with drilling mostly focused on shallow water blocks. In its Q1 2022 Exploration Watch, Hawilti notably reported the drilling of the Lidongo Marine-1 well on Marine XI by Mercuria. According to company sources, the well successfully tested one zone and flowed oil.

While the resumption of drilling is good news for Congo, a country that produces some 270,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd), more could be on the table. Last year, TotalEnergies announced it was planning to drill the Niamou prospect on Marine XX, a deep-water block it secured in February 2020. Along with its partner Woodside Energy, the French major believes that Niamou is a large attractive deep offshore prospect which could help maintain Congo’s output in the medium term.

(article updated on 7 November 2022 to reflect details of the drilling campaign provided by SNPC.)

More information on projects activity in the Republic of Congo is available on your Hawilti+ research terminal – plus.hawilti.com.

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Addax Petroleum officially exits Nigeria, transfers offshore blocks to NNPC

On November 1st, Addax Petroleum Development Nigeria Ltd signed a Transfer, Settlement and Exit Agreement (TSEA) with NNPC Ltd for offshore blocks OML 123, OML 124, OML 126, and OML 137. The subsidiary of the Sinopec Group has now ceased to be the production sharing contractor on these assets, after two decades operating in Nigeria. Much sought-after assets The operator had already been criticized for its lack of investment on the blocks, leading to the revocation of its licenses in March 2021 and their award to the consortium of Kaztec Engineering and Salvic Petroleum. However, an intervention by President Buhari had seen the blocks quickly returned to Addax Petroleum a month later. Throughout the rest of 2021, rumours circulated that another Nigerian consortium involving Mars E&P, a subsidiary of the AA&R Group, along with Kaztec Engineering and Salvic Petroleum was in the race to acquire Addax Petroleum’s interest in the four OMLs. AA&R notably announced in November 2021 a $274m senior secured reserve-based lending facility from the Afreximbank to support the acquisition. However, the deal eventually fell through and did not complete.   Addax’ blocks were originally awarded on a sole risk basis (100% interest) and are considered very attractive by the industry. Two of them are currently producing: OML 123 has been on production since 2006 via the Yinson-operated Adoon FPSO that develops the Antan Field, and OML 126 since 2005 via the BW Offshore-operated Sendje Berge FPSO that develops the Okwori and Nda Fields. The Adoon FPSO pumped an average of 16,400 barrels of oil per day (bopd) from January to September this year, according to NUPRC data. Its charter period expires at the end of 2022. Meanwhile, the FPSO Sendje Berge’s average output stood at under 4,500 bopd over the past few months and the vessel lease and operation contract was extended by another year until Q4 2022. On the other side, OML 137 remains undeveloped but is believed to be the most attractive asset because it holds significant gas resources that could be monetised domestically or via exports.

French development agency to finance development of Lagos’ waterways

The French development agency, AFD, has declared it would support the Lagos State Government and its waterways authority, LASWA, to develop a mass public inland waterways transportation system in Africa’s largest megacity. Known as the Waterways Investment and Development of the Environment project in Lagos State (WIDE-LAG), the €200m scheme targets the moving of over 50m passengers every year through Lagos’ waterways by 2028. The project’s scope involves the development of five to eight priority ferry routes including ferry terminals, first mile/last mile land connections, jetties, pontoons, shipyard for vessel maintenance and dredging of critical areas. It will also include the acquisition of clean-powered vessels, Information Transport Systems (ITS), capacity-building and institutional strengthening of LASWA. “This ambitious program will put Lagos State at the forefront of mobility innovation in Africa, setting the path for other western African countries sharing the same geographical configuration,” said Antoine Le Bihan, the AFD Representative in Lagos. The project’s preparatory studies were officially launched last week in Lagos, under a €1.2m grant provided by the AFD.