Antonio Oburu Ondo, Equatorial Guinea’s lately appointed Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons, has awarded impartial exploration and manufacturing firm, Panoro Vitality, a 56% collaborating curiosity and operatorship in Block EG-01 offshore the hydrocarbon-rich West African nation, in addition to Canadian oil and gasoline firm, the Africa Oil Company, two manufacturing sharing contracts (PSC) for offshore Blocks EG-18 and EG-31.
With the PSCs, the Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons, beneath the management of Minister Ondo, has taken vital strides in direction of opening up Equatorial Guinea’s offshore basins even additional, working carefully with two respected oil and gasoline firms to usher in a brand new period of hydrocarbon exploration and manufacturing.
For Panoro, the awarding of Block EG-01 permits the corporate to work alongside its companions within the block, Kosmos Vitality (24%) and nationwide oil firm, GEPetrol (20%), to conduct subsurface research on current seismic knowledge to establish and outline hydrocarbon reserves out there over a interval of three years. Situated in water depths of between 30 meters and 500 meters, Block EG-01 has indicated the presence of high-quality hydrocarbon reserves, with earlier exploration actions encountering skinny oil and gasoline pay in addition to oil exhibits. Thus far, the Eocene sands and Higher Cretaceous recognized within the block have been tied to producing wells in Block G – bordering Block EG-01 – the place over one billion barrels of business oil reserves have been recognized. With Panoro Vitality and its companions set to increase the contract with a further two years to conduct exploration actions, the PSC is about to drive Equatorial Guinea into a brand new period of oil and gasoline market enlargement.
John Hamilton, the CEO of Panoro Vitality, acknowledged that the “awarding of Block EG-01 is a pure and complementary enlargement of our portfolio in Equatorial Guinea, and is in keeping with our infrastructure-led exploration technique, rising our entry to a big stock of oil prospects and leads inside tie again distance of current manufacturing amenities for a modest monetary publicity. Panoro is happy to develop into an operator in Equatorial Guinea.”
The brand new contract will increase Panoro Vitality’s contribution in direction of the expansion of Equatorial Guinea’s vitality sector. As a companion and operator within the Ceiba Area and Okune Complicated – comprising six working oil and gasoline wells – Panoro Vitality has been essential participant in sustaining Equatorial Guinea’s vitality sector stability and development. With Panoro Vitality’s contract within the Ceiba Area prolonged to 2029 and within the Okume Complicated to 2034, the corporate’s function in driving Equatorial Guinea’s vitality future is imminent.
In the meantime, for the Africa Oil Company, the duo-PSCs allow the corporate to enter into the promising Equatorial Guinean market. With the agreements, the Canadian explorer will personal an 80% curiosity in each Block EG-18 and EG-31, with GEPetrol proudly owning a 20% curiosity in every. At present, Block EG-31 has proven to comprise a number of gas-prone prospects in shallow water depths of lower than 80 meters, and is strategically located near current infrastructure such because the Alba gasoline subject and onshore Punta Europa liquefied pure gasoline (LNG) terminal. As such, the Africa Oil Company has emphasised that any future discoveries might current low-cost, low-risk gasoline improvement, thereby additional consolidating the nation’s place as a worldwide LNG hub.
