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Eco Atlantic Acquires Additional Participating Interest in Block 3B/4B Offshore South Africa

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2 years ago

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Eco Atlantic

The acquisition deal by Eco Atlantic in Block 3B/4B marks the revitalization of energy exploration across southern Africa, representing an important step to kickstarting domestic energy security on the back of oil and gas

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, June 27, 2022/APO Group/ — 

Canadian-based oil and gas exploration company, Eco Atlantic, has, through its subsidiary Azinam Limited, signed a farmout agreement for the acquisition of an additional 6.25% participating interest in Block 3B/4B offshore South Africa. The $10 million deal, pending approval from the South African government and other relevant parties, will expand Eco Atlantic’s participating interest in Block 3B/4B to 26.25%.

With South Africa, Namibia and the African continent at large focusing on expanding oil and gas exploration and boosting investment in energy developments through improved partnerships with international independents such as Eco Atlantic, the African Energy Chamber (AEC), as the voice of the African energy sector, strongly supports the farmout agreement and marks the deal as a game changer for South Africa. At a time when Africa’s untapped resources hold the solution to the world’s energy crisis, agreements such as this will be key for unlocking a new era of exploration and production in Africa. 

Eco Atlantic is well positioned and committed to supporting Africa to make energy poverty history through the exploitation of domestic resources

The deal itself positions Eco Atlantic at the forefront of frontier exploration in Africa. Located between 120-250 km offshore South Africa in the Orange Basin and covering an area ~17,581km² wide, Block 3B/4B lies in water depths ranging from 300-2500 meters. Owing to the basin’s close proximity to recent major discoveries such as those made by Shell in Graff-1 and TotalEnergies in Venus in neighboring Namibia in February 2022, the Eco Atlantic deal represents a positive development towards the discovery of other massive reserves in the Orange Basin and will be critical for South Africa as the country looks to reawaken its own hydrocarbon market.

According to Gil Holzman, Co-Founder and CEO of Eco Atlantic, who is one of the high-level industry executives participating in upstream discussions during African Energy Week (AEW) 2022, stated that, “We are seeing growing industry interest in the entire Orange Basin and in particular in Block 3B/4B, and are therefore very happy to have managed to increase our WI on the Block. We are working closely with our partners to progress the technical work required, which includes reprocessing the 3D seismic we have for the Block, in order to evaluate and identify drilling prospects and high grade leads for a drilling campaign we are contemplating for next year. We are set for an exciting couple of months, and we look forward to keeping our stakeholders updated as we look to spud the Gazania-1 well on Block 2B, offshore South Africa, in early September 2022.”

Currently, Eco Atlantic, alongside its partners including Africa Oil Corp (20%) and Ricocure (53.75%), are reprocessing 3D seismic surveys at the block, which will be used to high-grade leads towards identifying drilling targets in the preparation for a potential drilling campaign in 2023. With major players including Shell, Kosmos Energy, TotalEnergies and Anadarko also expanding their footprints in the area, Eco Atlantic’s deal marks a new era of increased exploration, cooperation and competition which is both vital and healthy for boosting southern Africa’s oil and gas market growth.  

“We are bullish about Eco Atlantic for its ongoing commitment to exploring South Africa’s offshore basins. With deep water oil and gas projects holding the key for Africa to address energy poverty, industrialization and kickstart production, particularly as legacy projects in producing countries diminish, Eco Atlantic is well positioned and committed to supporting Africa to make energy poverty history through the exploitation of domestic resources,” states NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the AEC, adding that, “We hope to see more deals such as this signed at the continent’s premier event for the oil and gas industry, an event that positions oil and gas at the center of Africa’s energy sector revolution.”

At AEW 2022, Holzman will not only provide updates on the company’s progress in Africa, including the Block 3B/4B acquisition, but insight into Eco Atlantic’s future exploration and production plans across Namibia and South Africa’s hydrocarbon-rich basins. AEW 2022 will feature Eco Atlantic in high-level panel discussions and forums to discuss the role of independents in boosting upstream activities and investments across Africa’s oil and gas market.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Week (AEW).

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Ministers among hundreds of energy-sector leaders to attend AOW event

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1 day ago

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October 4, 2024

By

Sinclair

The event kicks off with an invitation-only ministerial symposium focused on the theme of “Fostering innovation, attracting investment, and promoting sustainable growth in the oil, gas, and energy sectors”

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, October 4, 2024/APO Group/ — 

AOW: Investing in African Energy (https://AOWEnergy.com) – Africa’s leading oil, gas and energy event – has confirmed attendance for more than 80 ministers and senior officials, representing African governments, energy departments and regulators at next month’s event.

These influential stakeholders will be among the more than 1 600 senior delegates and industry leaders who will be attending the event to develop policy, share discoveries, secure investment, and shape Africa’s energy future.

The event kicks off with an invitation-only ministerial symposium focused on the theme of “Fostering innovation, attracting investment, and promoting sustainable growth in the oil, gas, and energy sectors.”

Given the recent major oil-and-gas discoveries across Africa, the energy transition and major geopolitical events, it is clear that the energy sector needs positive intervention

Among the officials and government ministers attending will be energy leaders from South Africa, Nigeria, Namibia, Cote d’Ivoire, Mozambique, DRC, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Eswatini, Uganda, CAR, Guinea Conakry, Guinea Bissau, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Gabon, Malawi, Morocco, Zanzibar, Liberia, Senegal, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone.

In addition, the event will feature high-level delegations from numerous national oil companies, as well as multilateral bodies including the African Union, (AU), African Energy Commission (AFREC), African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO) and the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP).

AOW will see these energy leaders networking with C-suite executives and decision-makers from more than 760 top energy companies at daily networking events, to discuss insights, forge new relationships, and negotiate major energy deals.

“We are so excited to see the calibre of delegates at this year’s AOW event,” says Chief Executive Officer of Sankofa Events, Paul Sinclair. “Given the recent major oil-and-gas discoveries across Africa, the energy transition and major geopolitical events, it is clear that the energy sector needs positive intervention. The high-powered attendance proves AOW is a key platform to enable this intervention.”

Key themes to be discussed at this year’s AOW will be sustainable upstream development; expanding gas value chains; renewables and new energies; adoption of best-in-class technologies; and access to finance.

AOW: Investing in African Energy will culminate in a special anniversary party at Groot Constantia Vineyard to celebrate 30 years of the AOW event.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of AOW: Investing in African Energy.

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Afreximbank approves US$20.8 million for Starlink Global’s cashew factory project in Lagos

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1 day ago

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October 4, 2024

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PAPSS

The facility is expected to promote value addition which will guarantee increased earnings to the company while also fostering the creation of about 400 new jobs

CAIRO, Egypt, October 4, 2024/APO Group/ — 

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) (www.Afreximbank.com) has approved a US$20.8 million financing facility for Nigeria-based Starlink Global & Ideal Limited to enable the company construct and operate a 30,000-metric tonne per annum cashew processing factory in Lagos.

We are delighted at this partnership which promises to deliver significant impact on employment in Nigeria

According to the facility agreement signed in on July 22, 2024, Afreximbank will provide the funds in two tranches with the first tranche of US$7.48M going toward capital expenditure for the construction of the factory and the second, totalling US$13.25M to be deployed as working capital for the operations of the factory.

The facility is expected to promote value addition which will guarantee increased earnings to the company while also fostering the creation of about 400 new jobs once the factory becomes operational. It is also expected to support about 40 small and medium-sized enterprises.

Commenting on the transaction, Mrs. Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra Africa Trade and Export Development, Afreximbank, said that by supporting Starlink Global to establish a modern processing facility, Afreximbank is making it possible for Africa to add value to its agro-commodities, thereby facilitating exports and subsequent inflow of much-needed foreign exchange into the continent.

“We are delighted at this partnership which promises to deliver significant impact on employment in Nigeria. It will contribute to value creation and to the development of the local community while also improving the lots of smallholder farmers and small business suppliers that will work with Starlink across the value chain,” Mrs. Awani added.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Afreximbank.

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Sonangol to Lead Decarbonized Oil & Gas (O&G) Development, Says Angolan National Oil Company (NOC) Head

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October 4, 2024

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Sonangol

Participating in an on-stage interview at Angola Oil & Gas 2024, Sonangol CEO Sebastião Gaspar Martins emphasized that oil and gas remains a core focus for the national oil company

LUANDA, Angola, October 3, 2024/APO Group/ — 

Angola’s national oil company Sonangol reiterated its commitment to driving sustainable hydrocarbon development during the Angola Oil & Gas (AOG) conference this week. Speaking during an “In-Conversation with” session, Sonangol CEO Sebastião Gaspar Martins stated that the company will not abandon oil and gas, but rather advance decarbonized oil and gas development.

We are looking at opportunities in the gas sector and have identified the right partner to develop non-associated gas

By investing in upstream oil and gas production while prioritizing low-carbon projects, Sonangol aims to boost national crude output, while diversifying and decarbonizing the industry. The NOC is focusing efforts on non-associated gas development, as well as alternative energy sources such as solar.

“We are looking at opportunities in the gas sector and have identified the right partner to develop non-associated gas. Gas produced from Angola LNG will be used for the production of fertilizer and we are evaluating the utilization of gas in the south of the country, linking gas with steel industries. We also have a blue carbon project, linked to the reduction of carbon through the plantation of mangroves. We have one area in Luanda and have identified four additional areas for this,” stated Gaspar Martins.

Sonangol has undergone transformation in recent years: following the creation of the National Oil, Gas & Biofuels Agency (ANPG) in 2019, Sonangol transferred its role as national concessionaire and regulator. This transformation has aimed to make Sonangol more competitive and strengthen its capacity as an upstream operator. Concurrently, the government is partially privatizing the NOC, with privatization set to be complete in 2026. This process will enhance financial capacity, allowing Sonangol to drive new upstream projects forward.

“The transformation of Sonangol started several years ago, when we passed the regulatory, concessionaire role to the ANPG. At the time, we transferred almost 600 employees to the ANPG. After that, Sonangol underwent a restructuring program where we created five core business units from 36 different entities – starting with exploration and production. We want to go public, but we want to do it properly. So, we are currently going through all the processes to do this,” stated Gaspar Martins.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital & Power.

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