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NIGERIA
The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Alhaji Malam Mele Kyari and the Managing Director of Total E&P Nigeria (TEPNG), Mr. Mike Sangster have expressed their readiness to work together to grow daily crude oil and gas production and reserves to meet the national target of 40 billion barrels.
Alhaji Kyari said that Total Nigeria was one of NNPC’s most important partners with visible outcomes and has assured Total Nigeria of a very transparent and accountable relationship with acceptable frameworks.
Mr. Sangster expressed Total’s firm belief in the Nigerian oil and gas industry and its readiness to deploy solutions to the challenges facing the industry. The Italian energy company, Eni, has announced that its affiliate, Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), has made a significant gas and condensate discovery onshore Niger Delta.
The Eni-operated NAOC, which is jointly owned by the NNPC (60 percent), Oando (20 percent) and Eni (20 percent) discovered the deeper sequences of the Obiafu-Obrikom fields, in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 61, onshore Niger Delta.
This discovery is expected to boost the federal government’s aspiration to grow the country’s oil reserves to 40 billion barrels and daily production to 4 million barrels per day (bpd). Eni said the Obiafu-41 Deep well had reached a total depth of 4.374 meters and has encountered an important gas and condensate accumulation within what is known in geological parlance as the “deltaic sequence of Oligocene age” comprising more than 130metres of high-quality hydrocarbon-bearing sands.
The find amounts to about 1 trillion cubic feet of gas and 60 million barrels of associated condensate in the deep drilled sequences. The discovery has further potential that will be assessed with the next appraisal campaign.
Eni added that the well can deliver over 100 million standard cubic feet per day of gas and 3,000 bpd of associated condensates, which will be immediately put on-stream to increase NAOC’s gas production.
EQUATORIAL GUINEA
Equatorial Guinea’s Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons (MMH) announced that U.S. oil and gas company Noble Energy has discovered oil at the Aseng 6P well in offshore Block I. Noble is currently in the process of completing the 400-meter horizontal section of the well using existing Aseng field infrastructure and oil production is expected from October 2019.
The Aseng field consists of five subsea wells connected to an FPSO vessel. Noble Energy is the operator with 40 percent interest. Other partners include Atlas Petroleum (29 percent), Glencore Exploration (25 percent) and Gunvor (6 percent).
GHANA
Springfield Exploration and Production Limited (SEP), a subsidiary of Springfield Group, announced it became the first independent Ghanaian and African Energy company to drill for hydrocarbons in deep water at depths of 4,000 and beyond.
Springfield, which operates the West Cape Three Points Block 2 (WCTP Block 2), has signed a contract with Stena Unicon Offshore Services Ghana Ltd. (Stena Unicon) – one of the world’s foremost independent drilling contractors – for the Stena Forth Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU). Springfield said it will utilize the Stena Forth in late September for a drilling campaign on WCTP Block 2.
The next well, Afina-1x, will test the Cenomanian oil potential on a similar play fairway to discover resources to the east of WCTP Block 2. Springfield continues to work to firm up further drilling locations on the highly prospective WCTP Block 2.
Springfield is currently the Operator and Majority Interest Holder (84 percent) of WCTP Block 2 with the Ghana National Petroleum Company and its exploration company, EXPLORCO, holding the remaining interest. Springfield begins its first drilling campaign in 2019 and is on course to be the first independent Ghanaian operating company to drill in deep-water and produce oil and gas in commercial quantities.
GLOBAL
On Thursday 29th August, crude oil prices traded higher as China de-escalated trade tensions with Washington, confirming preparation talks for renewed trade negotiations and calming fears that the dispute would slow the world economy even further.
The U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 42 cents at $56.20 a barrel by 7:34 AM ET (11:34 GMT), while Brent crude futures rose 6 cents at $59.99. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) weekly report for Wednesday 28th August showed crude oil inventories fell by 10.0 million barrels for the week ending August 23, compared with analysts’ expectations for a decrease of 2.1 million barrels.
Oil has been supported this week by strong compliance by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) pact on output restraint, a large draw in U.S. crude inventories and increasing tensions between Washington and Tehran.
OPEC, Russia and other producers have been restraining supply for most of the period since Jan. 1, 2017 and have renewed the pact until March 2020. Hurricane Dorian, forecast to make landfall in Florida as a Category 4 storm on Labor Day has also stoked supply concerns amid expectations. The storm has the potential to impact offshore production in the Gulf of Mexico.
