Chief executives from Perenco, Trident Energy, Tullow Oil and Afentra shared strategies to extend the lifespan of Africa’s ageing oil and gas assets during African Energy Week: Invest in African Energies 2024

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, November 9, 2024/APO Group/ — 

Independent operators outlined new efforts to maximize production in Africa’s mature oil markets – including Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Angola – during the Upstream E&P Forum at African Energy Week: Invest in African Energies 2024.

Africa’s mature oil markets are seeing a number of independent firms drive production gains, prioritizing incremental exploration and innovative technologies to breathe new life into existing assets.

In Gabon, Perenco launched appraisal drilling near its existing Hylia South West discovery to identify additional reservoirs and estimate oil volumes. Meanwhile, Trident Energy launched a three-well infill drilling campaign on Block G – home to the mature Ceiba and Okume fields – offshore Equatorial Guinea earlier this year.

“We are building our strategy around innovation and fit for purpose technology. You need to find economic ways to develop those fields. Technology is key in enabling us to extend the life of the field,” said Armel Simondin, CEO of Perenco SA.

“Operating mature fields is about mindset – having a very granular approach, taking care of the details, and revisiting all of the information acquired on the asset. Our creativity in taking over mature fields and reducing operating costs is where we can make a difference. IOCs sell assets because they don’t fit in the portfolio anymore – companies like us are going to fight for the barrel and for the dollar,” said Jean-Michel Jacoulot, CEO of Trident Energy.

Capacity constraints, ageing infrastructure and increased operational downtime continue to challenge operators of mature fields. According to Rahul Dhir, CEO of Tullow Oil, these issues can be addressed through cost-control mechanisms and investment in infrastructure and facility upgrades, which have seen high exploration success rates in its mature markets.

Operating mature fields is about mindset – having a very granular approach, taking care of the details, and revisiting all of the information acquired on the asset

“At our flagship Jubilee Field [in Ghana], we began sourcing the OEM contract internally, which has given us more control and lower costs. It’s a very holistic approach,” said Dhir, adding, “In Gabon, we have drilled approximately one exploration well per year over the last four years, with a success rate of about 80%. The existing infrastructure is there.”

Panelists emphasized the role of regulatory stability in effectively managing mature oil reservoirs, along with contractual frameworks that account for the unique, capital-intensive nature of mature fields.

“This stage of asset needs as much of a development plan as the original development concept. To make those five-year investment plans, you need an underlying licensing and regulatory environment. This gives us the runway to be confident to invest in the asset. Underlying stability of the environment is critical,” said Paul McDade, CEO of Afentra. 

“Mature fields are not planned for in the early stage of contracts – many contracts are designed for greenfield investment. There is still progress to be made on improving these contracts. Mature fields require major investment because you need to compensate for the loss of energy in the reservoir,” said Simondin.

Afentra is focusing on optimizing, redeveloping and extending the lifespan of Africa’s legacy assets. In Angola, the company recently gained approval for the acquisition of Block 23, focusing on high-quality, long-life shallow water production assets with significant upside.

“In Angola, the phase of mature fields is quite early. With the asset we have, we have already discovered resources sitting near infrastructure that just haven’t been developed. We will go after that, before we even have to start spending exploration dollars,” said McDade.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

In addition to preparing a new Gas Code, the country is set to launch a Gas Master Plan, offering a comprehensive strategy for the country’s gas sector

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, November 9, 2024/APO Group/ — 

The Republic of Congo (ROC) is preparing a new Gas Code to incentivize investment across the natural gas value chain. Concurrently, the country is preparing to launch its Gas Master Plan (GMP), serving as a roadmap for investing in the ROC’s gas sector. These policies mark a pivotal step towards rolling out the requisite infrastructure to stimulate industrialization and economic growth.

Speaking at the Invest in Congo Energies country spotlight at African Energy Week: Invest in African Energies 2024, Maixent Raoul Ominga, Managing Director of the ROC’s national oil company Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo (SNPC), said that “the GMP creates a framework for all those interested in investing in gas in ROC.”

In addition to the GMP, Ominga outlined how the country’s upcoming Gas Code serves as a “mechanism to ensure that the energy industry has become attractive. The code allows partners to invest and generate returns from exploration.”

As the NOC, the SNPC has played a central role in driving oil and gas projects forward. The company strives to boost infrastructure development with the aim of driving long-term and sustainable economic growth.

According to Abdullahi Bashir, Haske, Group Managing Director, AA&R Investment, “We have not even scratched the surface in terms of the ROC’s potential. The government has done a great job to ensure there is a structured environment for companies to do business. The SNPC and regulator work hand-in-hand to ensure everything is done in a timely and efficient manner. There is an aggressive push to make sure hydrocarbons are developed quickly.”

The government has done a great job to ensure there is a structured environment for companies to do business

With its significant resource base, forward-looking approach to policy implementation and commitment to low-carbon oil and gas, the ROC has emerged as a highly-attractive investment market. The country offers a wealth of opportunity for new players, and companies are already joining the market. Trident Energy, for example, entered the ROC in 2024 with the acquisition of Chevron’s ROC assets.

“Trident Energy signed PSAs to enter the ROC earlier this year and we are about to close these. We are happy to invest in the ROC. We are very confident that we can develop our business model in ROC. Our model is to take over mid-life assets and invest specific technologies to redevelop these assets and increase production,” said Eric Descourtieux, CFO, Trident Energy.

Additionally, the country’s regulatory landscape and industry outlook is incentivizing new players to join the market. Gerd Nji, CEO, Kariya Energy, said that “We have looked at the ROC extensively over the last two years, and there are so many things that attract us to invest in the market. Oil and gas infrastructure is key as this encourages new investments. The government also has a mandate to increase production to potentially 500,000 BPD. This is a good incentive.”

Going forward, the country aims to attract fresh investment across the growing oil and gas value chain. With the GMP and Gas Code, the ROC’s fiscal and regulatory environment has become increasingly more transparent, while making it simpler for companies to invest.

Yves Ollivier, Managing Director, CLG Congo, says “The Gas Code is in preparation, providing the legal and tax provisions for the industry. This is more beneficial [than previous regulation] and outlines permits, legal and tax provisions.”

The country’s gas policies also allow existing operators and service providers to strengthen their footprint across the market. Both SLB and Halliburton, for example, already have a strong presence in the market. Antoine Berel, Managing Director, Sub-Saharan Africa, Halliburton, explains that “we collaborate to maximize asset value across operations. Driving productivity is at the core of our operations. One of the key enablers we have is the digitalization of our workflow and automation of our processes.”

Meanwhile, Yannick Mouamba, Country Director, Congo and Gabon, SLB, shared that “When it comes to ROC, we have a strong track record, where we help our customer develop fields. In the ROC there is fiscal attractiveness. There are a lot of new operators coming to the game, offering the potential for the country to increase production.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

Nigerian indigenous firms discussed competitive advantages in shallow water operations and plans to expand into gas monetization during a special session on Nigeria’s new era of oil and gas growth

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, November 9, 2024/APO Group/ — 

Companies from Nigeria’s Renaissance Consortium discussed their evolving business portfolios and investment strategies at the African Energy Week: Invest in African Energies conference on Wednesday. 

Discussions explored the shifting dynamics in the Nigerian upstream sector, focusing on the trend of IOCs divesting shallow water and onshore operations in favor of deepwater acreage. The consortium includes ND Western, Aradel Holdings, the Petrolin Group, First E&P Development Company and Waltersmith Petroman Oil Ltd. 

“The opportunity to step into IOC shoes in shallow water and onshore is not easy. However, the beauty of divestment is, because it is onshore, the basic infrastructure is there. As indigenous players, it gives us the opportunity to demonstrate our local know-how and play to our strengths in terms of terrain,” said Olarewaju Daramola Aradel, General Manager – Commercial, Aradel.

The session emphasized the current exploration and production capacity of indigenous firms, with Nigerian independents carving out strong competitive advantages in shallow water operations and developing strategic capabilities that can be applied across the value chain. First E&P, for instance, represents the first indigenous company to develop a greenfield asset in Nigerian shallow water.

We are deeply rooted in the science of the business

“We are deeply rooted in the science of the business. We look for technologies and development concepts that drive a UDC of $5 per barrel and a UTC of $15 per barrel. We are laser-focused on execution. This has created a competitive advantage in the shallow water offshore space,” said George Toriola, Chief Strategy & Operation Officer, First E&P.

Nigerian firms are driving significant increases in gas production and discussed plans to serve local and regional markets, with the potential to expand into midstream and downstream sectors in the future.

“We are the second-largest producer and supplier of gas to the domestic market in Nigeria, as well as regional sales to West Africa. We are currently producing 300 million standard cubic feet of gas per day and have a work program where we intend to double that production,” said Lanre Kalejaiye, CEO of ND Western.

“We have grown from a strictly upstream business to an integrated company with viable business lines across the oil and gas value chain… We are investing in targeted, viable projects that translate our oil and gas resource base into midstream gas processing and gas exports,” said Oladapo Filani, CEO of Waltersmith Petroman Oil Ltd.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.