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NIGERIA
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, H.E. Chief Timipre Sylva, stated that the April 2023 completion date for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery was feasible, and that the plant would refine 60,000 barrels of crude per day (bpd). H.E. Minister Sylva expressed satisfaction at the level of work done at the refinery and promised that the Federal Government would put an end to all forms of illegal oil bunkering going on in the Niger Delta. The Minister also stated that the modular refinery program of the Federal Government was on course and urged people to take advantage of the program.
The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Alhaji Mele Kyari, received the European Union (EU) Ambassador to Nigeria, together with France, Italy, Portugal and the Spanish Ambassador. The visit comes as Europe tries to reduce its reliance on Russian gas, thus, encouraging the European envoys to strengthen their cooperation in the energy sector. Kyari assured the European delegation that the company would continue to deepen its relationship with EU companies in Nigeria, mainly working towards increasing gas supply to the global market.
GABON
VAALCO Energy said it had successfully drilled the Avouma 3H-ST development well drilled from the Avouma platform in the Etame field, offshore Gabon. The Avouma 3H-ST development well was drilled with a lateral of 268 meters in high-quality Gamba sands at the top of the structure. VAALCO said the well-encountered premium Gamba sands with 28% porosity and one Darcy of permeability confirms the extension of Avouma reservoir and is forecasted to increase the overall recovery from the field, potentially allowing for additional wells at Avouma.
The company is currently completing the Avouma 3H-ST well and expecting initial production in the next few weeks. Following completion, the drilling program will continue with the spudding of the ETBSM-1HB ST2 development well from the Avouma platform.
SENEGAL
Wood, a global consulting and engineering company, has been awarded a contract by Woodside Energy for the Sangomar the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) development, located 100 km south of Dakar, Senegal. Following completion in 2023, the FPSO will have a production capacity of approximately 100,000 bpd of crude oil, which will provide revenue to help deliver sustainable long term economic and social benefits for Senegal.
A multidisciplinary Wood team will implement a combined Production Management System (PMS) and Virtual Metering System (VMS) at the Sangomar FPSO control room and Woodside’s onshore offices in Senegal and Perth, leveraging Wood’s digital capabilities and Virtuoso’s platform. The Virtuoso PMS and VMS will provide real-time monitoring of the production system, decision support for complex operations and advanced surveillance for hydrate and wax management. Further, the VMS minimizes the number of subsea flow meters required for the development. The recent contract win follows Wood’s ongoing work with Woodside executing the flow assurance design analysis for the Sangomar FPSO Development, drawing on its extensive experience in complex operations of the field which include hydrate and wax management, hot oil and dead oil circulation, and gas lift optimization.
GLOBAL
On April 14, oil prices retreated, handing back some of this week’s strong gains that affected trading after the release of a larger-than-expected build in U.S. oil stocks. The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures traded 1.6% lower at $102.62 a barrel, while the Brent crude futures fell 1.5% to $107.16 a barrel at 9:20 AM ET (13:20 GMT). The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s weekly report for April 13 showed a build of 9.382 million barrels in crude inventories for the week ending April 8 against analysts’ prediction of a build of 863,000 barrels, while a build of 2.421 million barrels was reported during the previous week.
So far, the oil market has seen strong trading, boosted by news that China, the largest importer of crude, has begun easing movement curbs for some residents in its financial hub, Shanghai. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) warned that losses from Russia due to sanctions could be as much as 7 million bpd. OPEC said it would be “impossible” to replace even if members did decide to increase their output substantially.
