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Major Oil & Gas Farm-In Prospects Unveiled at African Farmout Forum

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African Farmout Forum

The African Farmout Forum featured 16 companies presenting competitive farm-in opportunities across Africa’s oil and gas hotspots

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, November 5, 2024/APO Group/ — 

The African Farmout Forum – as part of the pre-conference workshops at African Energy Week: Invest in African Energies 2024 – featured 16 companies presenting competitive farm-in opportunities in Africa’s leading oil and gas hotspots.  

Led by global energy advisory Moyes, oil and gas asset deals platform Farmout Angel, and independent advisor Envoi, the forum serves as the premier platform for deal-making and pitching, enabling NOCs, small to medium-sized independents, and start-up energy companies to highlight their partnership and investment opportunities, while accelerating exploration and accessing project funding. 

PSAs 131, 190 and 206 – Somalia   

Liberty Petroleum Corporation is seeking a farm-in partner for PSAs 131, 190 and 206 offshore Somalia. These licenses contain exceptionally large mapped prospects, with an estimated 56 billion barrels of oil resources. Among these is the Leopard prospect, which alone is estimated to hold about 8 billion barrels of resources, highlighting new oil-prone opportunities offshore Somalia. 

Onshore PSCs – Timor-Leste  

Timor Resources is seeking a strategic investment of $20 million to fund three appraisal wells on two PSCs onshore Timor-Leste in exchange for equity in the project. The company has made three discoveries from its initial onshore wells, and the acreage is recognized as a significant conventional oil and gas play with substantial exploration upside. Timor-Leste offers a competitive fiscal regime, allowing 95% of revenue to be allocated to the operator for cost recovery, along with a 5% revenue royalty and additional benefits. 

Loukos Onshore License – Morocco  

Chariot Transitional Energy presented the Loukos Onshore license area in Northern Morocco, representing a near-term, low-risk and high reward appraisal opportunity. Operator Chariot has identified multiple drill-ready opportunities, which offer long-leads in existing inventory and rig availability in-country, along with competitive fiscal terms and license flexibility. These include the RJB-2 Re-Drill, OBA-1 Discovery Appraisal and Material Exploration opportunities.  

Offshore South West Tano Block – Ghana  

OSWT & EK Operating Company is seeking a partner to earn a significant working interest – and potentially operatorship – in the Offshore South West Tano block in Ghana. The block represents a multi-target, low-risk exploration well with tie-back or standalone development options, and lies between the Jubilee and TEN field developments and directly north of the Pecan field. Block prospectivity totals over two billion barrels in place spread across four prospects with a mix of exploration and appraisal targets. The first prospect set to be drilled – Edinam-1X – is scheduled for Q3 2025.  

OPL 332 – Nigeria  

Dajo Energy is seeking a co-developer to develop the Oil Prospecting License (OPL) 322 asset into production. Located offshore Nigeria, OPL 322 contains two major structures – Bobo and Aga thrust – with the Bobo field containing recoverable resources of 277 million barrels of oil and 1.2 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas. The Aga thrust is undrilled, but estimated to contain 885 million barrels and 2.5 TCF. The farm-in opportunity offers significant potential upside, with substantial gas resources with high commercialization potential, a possible five-year royalty holiday, and additional incentives under Nigeria’s new oil and gas fiscal and regulatory framework.  

Blocks 53, 53, 55, 71, 72 and 73 – Sierra Leone  

FA OIL is exploring partnerships for blocks 53, 53, 55, 71, 72 and 73, awarded under Sierra Leone’s fifth licensing round. The acreage spans more than 8,000 km², containing 14+ leads in water depths up to 4,000 m. Six out of 11 wells drilled have oil or gas shows or are discoveries. GeoPartners, in partnership with the Petroleum Directorate of Sierra Leone, are planning a new multi-client 3D seismic acquisition over the FA OIL acreage to help mature the leads identified on existing 2D seismic into drillable prospects. The campaign is set to begin July 2025.  

EG-18 and EG-31 – Equatorial Guinea   

Africa Oil Corp. is seeking to farm out interests in blocks EG-18 and EG-31, located offshore Equatorial Guinea. EG-18, positioned in a frontier exploration area within an emerging basin, includes the Jasper prospect – a “giant” target with multi-billion-barrel potential and proven play elements. In contrast, EG-31 offers an infrastructure-led, shallow water exploration opportunity in a mature basin, situated near the Alba field and Punta Europa LNG terminal. This low-risk, proven gas province boasts multi-TCF potential, comprehensive 3D seismic coverage and hosts the Massif and Whistler prospects. 

Deepwater Orange Basin – Namibia  

Namibia has attracted a wealth of major operators, resulting in substantial exploration and appraisal activity in 2023 and 2024. Following world-class hydrocarbon discoveries in 2022 by Shell and TotalEnergies, operators including Galp, Chevron and Woodside Energy have taken strategic positions in adjacent blocks, while non-operating partners such as QatarEnergy, Impact Oil & Gas, Africa Oil Corp. and Sintana Energy have made significant investments in the basin, creating additional farm-in opportunities. 

Marginal Field Development Program – Nigeria  

Decklar Resources and Millennium Oil and Gas Company are in discussions with potential investors and farm-in partners for the Oza field, located in the northern section of OML 22 onshore Nigeria. The license encompasses over 30 discovered oil fields, including producing fields operated by Shell, and benefits from well-established infrastructure with export pipeline access to the Trans Niger Pipeline, linking to the Bonny Offshore Terminal. Three wells previously drilled by Shell in the Oza field have collectively produced over one million barrels. 

Matanda Block – Cameroon  

Gaz du Cameroun (GDC) presented the Matanda block in Cameroon, an onshore gas farm-in opportunity with an established local market and fast-track monetization potential. The Matanda exploration block, located in the Douala Basin near the onshore Logbaba field, is recognized as a proven and active hydrocarbon system. Currently, GDC produces gas and condensate from the Logbaba field, transporting it via pipeline to industrial clients, including Dangote Cement. GDC is seeking an industry partner and is open to farming out up to a 37.5% interest in the PSC. 

Blocks 5 and 12 – São Tomé and Príncipe 

Oando Energy Resources is seeking a partner to advance its exploration commitments on Blocks 5 and 12 in the Exclusive Economic Zone of São Tomé and Príncipe. The country has seen recent licensing activity from Shell, Petrobras, TotalEnergies, Kosmos Energy and Galp. In phase one of its Block 12 work program, Oando has already completed 2,000 km² of 3D seismic and is now progressing into phase two, with plans to drill an exploration well in Q2 2025. 

Block KON6 – Angola  

Grupo Simples presented Block KON6, an onshore exploration opportunity in Angola’s Kwanza Basin. Spanning 1,042 km², KON6 is estimated to hold 382 million barrels of unrisked resources. Five wells have previously been drilled, with six leads evaluated in the first phase. Grupo Simples is targeting three primary leads – 1N, 1S, and 2 – and plans to launch additional seismic acquisition in January 2025, followed by the spudding of the first well in August 2025. The company seeks a partner to accelerate exploration and production activities, as well as diversify its risk.   

Licensing Opportunities – Democratic Republic of the Congo  

The Ministry of Hydrocarbons of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has entered into direct negotiations on all of its acreage. This includes the Cuvette Central Basin, with four drilled wells and proven source rocks; the Lake Albert Graben, featuring multi-BCF discoveries in Uganda with an undrilled DRC side; Lake Tanganyika, supported by existing 2D seismic data; and the Coastal Basin, aligned with the Cabinda fields’ trend. In the Lake Albert acreage, the Ministry plans to reprocess existing data, acquire new 3D seismic on selected structures, and launch a restricted call for tenders in June 2025. 

Carbon Limits Nigeria  

Carbon Limits Nigeria (CLN) is seeking new upstream partners for emission reduction projects; investors targeting emission reduction projects to gain carbon credit exposure; and/or buyers of carbon credits generated from projects. Pan-African in focus, CLN provides solutions on clean energy utilization, climate change mitigation and carbon assessment of projects. The company currently has projects in Algeria, Egypt and Nigeria, where it is leading flare projects in OMLs 98, 56, 53 and 24.  

License SL2020A – Sierra Leone  

Innoson Oil and Gas is offering a significant equity position in exploration license SL2020A, located in deepwater acreage offshore Sierra Leone with existing discoveries. This area is underexplored and has geological similarities to the conjugate margin of Guyana. Innoson recently secured a four-year license extension and is seeking a farm-in partner to assist with 3D seismic interpretation to assess prospectivity and facilitate a drill-or-drop decision by March 2028. To date, five large leads have been mapped using 2D data, bringing the total to 16 leads, along with two wildcat wells drilled and three major discoveries: Venus, Mercury and Jupiter. 

Diender Permit – Senegal 

Africa Fortesa Corporation is seeking to farm out part of its interest in the Diender PSA Permit onshore Senegal, which boasts a scalable production base with significant transformational upside. This permit is part of the same play as the Sangomar field and has multiple TCF of recoverable gas potential, along with low exploration and production cost thresholds and strong local gas market demand. The planned work program includes drilling the Gadiaga field development well, followed by a three-well drilling program at NBW-1, AT-1PM and AT-2, as well as four appraisal wells. Africa Fortesa is looking for future funding for appraisal wells, field development and infrastructure partnerships for midstream and virtual pipelines. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

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China’s digital hub Hangzhou hosts conference on AI, OPC

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June 30, 2026

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OPC

HANGZHOU, CHINA – Media OutReach Newswire – 30 June 2026 – The inaugural AI+OPC Innovation and Development Conference was held from June 29 to 30 in Shangcheng District, Hangzhou, capital city of east China’s Zhejiang Province. Centered on one-person company (OPC), a new form of smart economy in the AI era, the conference program comprised one opening ceremony and two parallel breakout sessions.

It gathered around 400 delegates from government departments, industry associations, financial institutions, AI enterprises and OPC startup operators across the country. Participants exchanged insights on AI innovation pathways and cross-industry integration strategies, injecting strong impetus into Hangzhou’s ambition to develop a national benchmark hub for AI+OPC entrepreneurship.

A series of key launches and milestone ceremonies took place during the opening segment. Official releases included the 2026 national OPC development observation report, Hangzhou’s 2026–2028 action plan and supporting policies to build a national AI+OPC entrepreneurship hub, and a catalog of actionable AI+OPC application scenarios. Attendees also received an in-depth interpretation of the specifications for AI-enabled OPC community services and evaluation.

The ceremony featured multiple landmark initiatives: plaque awarding for Hangzhou’s priority AI+OPC incubation communities and dedicated observation sites, the official launch of the AI+OPC Community Alliance initiative, and a kickoff marking the official construction of the national AI+OPC entrepreneurship hub.

The open forum session featured keynote speeches from distinguished industry and academic leaders. Speakers included Pan Yunhe, former executive vice president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and professor at Zhejiang University; Liang Gui, former executive vice governor of Jiangxi Province and ex-director of the Torch High Technology Industry Development Center under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology; and Zou Ling, head of Hong Hub, Shangcheng District’s single-member unicorn startup acceleration community, who shared cutting-edge insights from varied perspectives.

A panel dialogue followed, bringing together representatives from Moshu OPC Community (Beijing E-Town), the School of Future Science and Engineering at Soochow University, Qingju Hub · Future Digital Intelligence Port (Shangcheng District), and Puhua Capital for in-depth industry exchanges.

Complementary concurrent events held throughout the conference included an OPC capital-industry matchmaking salon, a symposium on industry-education integration for AI-powered OPC sectors, and a national exchange forum for AI+OPC community practitioners.

OPC has emerged as a vibrant new engine driving economic vitality and underpinning high-quality development. Against the backdrop of a new development era, the inaugural Hangzhou AI+OPC Innovation and Development Conference unites OPC innovators nationwide.

Drawing on the creative energy of millions of independent super-individual operators, the event delivers sustained digital momentum to fuel Hangzhou’s super-individual economy, while rolling out replicable local practices and actionable Hangzhou solutions to advance high-quality growth of smart economies nationwide.

 

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Hainan FTP marks 6-month milestone of special customs operations, signs deals during Hong Kong visit

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June 30, 2026

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Hong Kong

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 June 2026 – As the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) marked the six-month milestone since the launch of its full special customs operations, a Hainan provincial delegation wrapped up a three-day visit to Hong Kong. During the visit, the delegation signed deepened cooperation agreements with several major local chambers of commerce and promoted the latest policies introduced since the island-wide special customs operations took effect.

According to data released by Hainan Province during the visit, Hainan’s foreign trade has surged since the launch of special customs operations. As of June 17, the province’s total goods imports and exports reached RMB 173.98 billion (approximately US$24 billion), up 54.6% year on year. Imports of zero-tariff goods hit RMB 2.645 billion, a 120% jump that generated tariff savings of RMB 440 million. A total of 172,100 new market entities were registered—a 61% increase—including 1,240 foreign-invested enterprises. Zero-tariff items now account for 74% of all tariff lines, benefiting more than 12,000 market entities.

During the Hong Kong visit, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Hainan Provincial Committee (CCPIT Hainan) signed separate deepened cooperation MOUs with the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong and the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. Under the MOUs, the parties will establish a regular liaison mechanism for the periodic exchange of economic and trade information, and will promote collaboration in areas including professional services, green finance, the digital economy, supply chain management, and cultural tourism. Mutual enterprise service desks will be set up to provide consulting services regarding policies and projects. The parties will leverage their complementary strengths to help Chinese mainland enterprises access overseas markets via Hong Kong, while facilitating Hong Kong companies’ entry into the Chinese mainland through Hainan.

The delegation also held talks with the British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, exploring ways for British and American businesses to leverage Hainan’s value-added processing tariff exemptions and multifunctional free trade accounts to position themselves in regional supply chains and cross-border investment and financing. HSBC, De Beers, and other British firms are already active in Hainan, and the UK served as the Guest of Honor country at the 2025 China International Consumer Products Expo.

According to industry analysts, amid the shifting international trade landscape, Hainan is leveraging Hong Kong’s “super-connector” role to accelerate its integration with global capital and business networks, while simultaneously offering the Hong Kong business community a policy testing ground for entering the Chinese mainland market.

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Africa’s Grid Constraints Come into Focus as Regional Markets Push Toward Integration

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4 days ago

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June 26, 2026

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Africa

Regional power pools are advancing and renewable pipelines are growing, but the regulatory and financial architecture needed to connect them remains the continent’s most critical infrastructure gap – an issue central to the Power Africa Today conference at AEW 2026

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, June 25, 2026/APO Group/ –Africa’s electricity demand is projected to nearly double to 2,291 TWh by 2050, requiring an estimated $30 billion in transmission and grid infrastructure investment to unlock and integrate new generation capacity. Yet across the continent, grid systems are struggling to keep pace with rapidly expanding supply pipelines and rising demand.

In Nigeria, repeated nationwide grid collapses as recently as February 2026 underscore the fragility of aging transmission infrastructure. In East Africa, tower failures along the 428 km Loiyangalani-Suswa line temporarily stranded output from Lake Turkana Wind Power – Africa’s largest wind installation. Meanwhile, demand growth pressures are accelerating across North Africa, where electricity consumption is expected to rise by around 50% by 2035, driven by urbanization, desalination projects, and climate-related temperature increases.

Despite these constraints, generation investment continues to accelerate across Africa, particularly in renewables, gas-to-power and hybrid systems. However, without equivalent investment in transmission and interconnection, much of this new capacity risks being underutilized or stranded. This growing imbalance between generation and grid capacity is driving a sharper focus on system-wide planning and regional market design – issues that will be central to the newly launched Power Africa Today conference at African Energy Week 2026. The platform will bring together policymakers, utilities, investors and developers to explore how regional interconnection, cross-border trading frameworks and financing structures can better align generation growth with grid expansion.

Power Markets Experiment with Reform

Alongside infrastructure challenges, Africa’s electricity sector is undergoing gradual – but uneven – market reform. Most countries still operate vertically integrated systems dominated by state utilities, but a growing number are introducing competitive frameworks to attract private capital and improve efficiency.

Zimbabwe opened its electricity market to full private participation across generation, transmission and distribution in 2025, targeting $9 billion in new investment. South Africa is advancing one of the continent’s most ambitious grid expansion programs, with plans for 14,500 km of new transmission lines and 133,000 MVA of transformer capacity by 2034, alongside mechanisms designed to crowd in private financing. Kenya, meanwhile, has introduced open access regulations enabling independent power producers to wheel electricity directly to multiple off-takers, reshaping how generation assets interface with the grid.

Interconnected electricity markets are the foundation of Africa’s industrial future

Regional Integration Remains Fragmented

Efforts to connect Africa’s fragmented power systems are progressing, though at different speeds across regions. In Southern Africa, the World Bank’s RETRADE SAPP program, approved in 2025, is deploying $12 million to strengthen renewable integration and transmission capacity across 12 member states. In East Africa, the Ethiopia–Kenya–Tanzania Electricity Highway is now in trial operations at up to 2,000 MW, marking a significant step toward a more interconnected regional grid.

West Africa is also moving toward deeper integration, with permanent synchronization of the West Africa Power Pool expected in 2026. Analysts, including the African Finance Corporation, argue that such synchronization is critical to unlocking large-scale hydropower potential and industrial demand across the region. Longer term, full synchronization between the Eastern and Southern African power pools – targeted for the end of 2026 – could create one of the world’s largest cross-border electricity trading corridors.

Building Bankable Financial Architectures

While interconnection is advancing, infrastructure alone is not enough to create investable electricity markets. Investors consistently cite the lack of standardized offtake structures, creditworthy counterparties, and cross-border payment guarantees as key barriers to scaling capital deployment.

New models are emerging to address these constraints. Africa GreenCo, operating across Zambia, Namibia and South Africa, is helping to aggregate independent power producers under a single creditworthy intermediary, standardizing power purchase agreements and reducing counterparty risk. At a broader level, AUDA-NEPAD estimates that Africa requires around $30 billion in additional investment to complete priority transmission corridors and establish three fully interconnected regional trading blocs by 2030.

“Interconnected electricity markets are the foundation of Africa’s industrial future,” said NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber. “The question at Africa Energy Week is not whether integration is possible – the evidence is already there. The question is which regulatory frameworks and financial structures will get projects to financial close, and which markets will be ready when capital is looking to move.”

The Power Africa Today conference will run alongside AEW 2026, taking place October 12–16 in Cape Town, and will focus on the regulatory, financial and infrastructural architecture needed to build interconnected electricity markets capable of attracting institutional capital and delivering reliable, cross-border power at scale.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

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