Independent oil and gas company Afentra has pushed its final acquisition of Angola’s National Oil Company (NOC) Sonangol’s stake in the country’s offshore Block 3/05 from June to July 2023. Subsequent to the approval of the license extension, which was conducted in May, Sonangol is now pursuing the requisite government approvals for the transaction. Afentra signed Sales and Purchase Agreements (PSAs) with Sonangol in April 2022 to acquire non-operated interests from the NOC in the producing Blocks 3/05 (24%) and 3/05A (4%), and exploration Block 23 (40%).
“Recent gross production levels in Block 3/05 have averaged approximately 18,900 barrels of oil per day in May 2023,” Afentra announced in an update on 20 June, adding, “Water injection levels have averaged approximately 390,000 barrels of water per day from January through May 2023. Finally, production in Block 3/05A, at the Gazela Field, has continued at approximately 1,100 barrels per day.”
As a result of an agreement between Afentra and Angola’s national concessionaire, the National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency, the PSA was extended from 1 July 2023 to 31 December 2040. “Based on the outstanding workstreams and associated timeframes, completion of the transaction is now expected to occur in July 2023, and we are working, together with Sonangol, to extend the long stop date for this acquisition accordingly,” the company added, concluding, “We look forward to providing shareholders with further updates in due course.”
The acquisition will be financed through Reserve Based Lending from independent physical trading and logistics company Trafigura to the tune of $75 million with a 5-year tenure.
