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2024
Nov 2024: Trident, operator, 40%) announced the C-45 infill well in a water depth of 800m is producing at a rate in excess of 5,000 bbls of oil per day and will continue to ramp up. C-45 is an infill well at the Ceiba Field in Block G. A second well, OF-19, in the Okume Complex has been drilled in a water depth of 450m and will be online soon.
Jul 2024: GEPetrol (operator since 2023) outlined a redevelopment plan for the Zafiro Field in Block B comprising 3 phases, the 1st to be implemented in 2025 by reconnecting wells previously connected to the Zafiro Producer floating production unit (FPU). ExxonMobil halted production in 2022 after water entered the FPU.
Jul 2024: Trident, operator of Block G is to drill 2 infill wells in water depths of 250m and 740m using the Noble Venturer drillship. It will then move to Block S for Kosmos to drill the Akeng Deep infrastructure led exploration well.
2023
No significant news in 2023.
2022
Sep 2022: Vaalco Energy (operator, 80%) and GEPetrol (20%) received approval for its POD for the Venus field in Block P in the Rio Muni Basin. Venus was discovered in 2005 north of the Ceiba and Okume fields. 1st oil is planned for late 2026 with peak at 15,000 bbls of oil per day from 2 wells and an injector. The field contains from 15 to 30 mm bbls of recoverable oil.
May 2022: Trident (operator, 40.375%), Kosmos (40.375%), Panoro (14.25%) and GEPetrol (5%) agreed to extend their Block G PSC with the Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons to end 2040. It covers the producing Ceiba field and the 5 Okume Complex fields in shallow and deep waters of the Rio Muni basin. Prior to this expiry for Ceiba was 2029 and Okume, 2034.
2021
Mar 2021: Noble Energy achieved first gas from the offshore Alen gas monetization project in the Douala Basin. The project consists of a 70 km pipeline to existing onshore facilities at Punta Europa, the Alba plant and the LNG plant.
2020
Aug 2020: Noble Energy’s offshore Alen gas monetization project is making progress toward an early 2021 start-up. Preparations are continuing on the shore crossing site for connecting the field’s gas pipeline to onshore facilities.
May 2020: The Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons (MMH) has granted companies a 2-year extension to exploration programs due to COVID-19 and the low oil price.
Mar 2020: Equatorial Guinea and São Tomé and Príncipe have agreed on the establishment of a Special Zone for Joint Exploration.
2019
Nov 2019: The Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons announced award of 6 offshore and 3 onshore oil and gas blocks to companies participating in EG Ronda 2019 launched in April in which 27 blocks were offered. They include Lukoil, Noble, Africa Oil and Vaalco. Gepetrol is a partner in 8 of the blocks and the sole contractor in 1 block.
Nov 2019: Kosmos has made an oil discovery at its offshore S-5 well. It penetrated 39m of net oil pay.
Aug 2019: Noble Energy has made a new discovery in offshore Block 1 with the Aseng 6P well. It will connect the well to existing infrastructure in the Aseng field, which currently has 5 oil producing subsea wells and an FPSO.
May 2019: The Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons (MMH) launched the 2019 Oil and Gas Licensing Round (EG Ronda 2019) in April with pre-qualification closing in June and the deadline in September. The Round comprises 27 blocks including 2 for Appraisal (EG-27 (former Block R) and EG-23).
Mar 2019: Noble Energy (operator, 45%) will submit an FID for the Alen gas project. The Alen field, in Blocks O and I, has been producing condensate since 2013 from 3 production wells and 3 gas injection wells. Condensate goes to the Aseng FPSO. Gas will be processed through the Alba Plant and the LNG plant in Punta Europa from 2021.
Jan 2018: Ophir Energy has received notification from the Equatorial Guinea Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons that the Block R Licence in the SE part of the Niger Delta complex, which contains the Fortuna gas discovery, will not be extended.
2018
Dec 2018: Eleven new wells are set to be drilled in 2019 with 5 rigs currently contracted. Also additional oil and gas exploration blocks will be offered under EG Ronda 2019.
May 2018: Noble Energy (operator, 45%) will link by pipeline the offshore Alen field in Blocks O and I to LNG and LPG gas processing infrastructure in Punta Europa on Bioko Island. The Alen platform will become an offshore hub for development of additional gas fields nearby. The field has been producing gas and condensate since 2013 with gas re-injected into the reservoir.
2017
Dec 2017: ExxonMobil (operator, 80%) discovered oil in the Avestruz-1 well within the EG-06 offshore block. The well was drilled in October 2017 in a block adjacent to the Zafiro field awarded in 2015. Its partner is state-owned GEPetrol (20%).
Jun 2017: The seven winners of the EG Ronda 2016 Licensing Round have been announced . They are Ophir (Block EG-24), Offshore Equator (EG-23), Clontarf (EG-18), Elenilto (EG-09), Taleveras (EG-07), Atlas Petroleum (EG-10), and ExxonMobil (EG-11). PSCs should be signed by September. The government has already signed with ExxonMobil for EG-11, contiguous to the Zafiro oil field.
May 2017: OPEC has approved Equatorial Guinea’s request to join the Organization with immediate effect and become Sub-Saharan Africa’s fourth OPEC member. Equatorial Guinea applied for OPEC membership in January. Its share of production cuts over the last 6 months is 12,000 bbls per day and it will be the first African nation to develop an offshore field using FLNG.
Mar 2017: The Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons has extended the date of the EG Ronda Licensing Round to April 28, 2017. The round was launched in June 2016 and made available all acreage not operated or under direct negotiation (37 blocks, including 32 offshore).The country has pledged to cut 12,000 bbls per day in line with OPEC.
Jan 2017: Equatorial Guinea has offered to join OPEC in 2017 and has agreed to production cuts. The country was one of the non-OPEC nations that signed up to cuts in 2016.
2016
Nov 2016: Ophir (operator, 33.8%) and OneLNGSM (Golar LNG and Schlumberger, 66.2%) are establishing a JOC to develop the $2bn Fortuna FLNG project in offshore Block R. Final investment decision (FID) is targeted for the 1H 2017 and first gas for 1H 2020 with output at up to 2.5 mmtpa.
Aug 2016: Tullow (operator, 47.175%) announced first oil from the offshore Tweneboa, Enyenra, Ntomme (TEN) fields 3 years after the Plan of Development was approved. Tullow expects oil production to ramp-up towards the FPSO capacity of 80,000 bbls per day through the remainder of 2016. Partners are Anadarko (17%), Kosmos (17%), GNPC (15%) and PetroSA (3.875%).
Jul 2016: Marathon (operator, 65%) announced it has achieved first gas production through its Alba B3 offshore compression platform allowing maintenance of plateau production for the next 2 years and extending the Alba Field's life by up to 8 years. Partner is Noble Energy with 35%.
Jun 2016: The latest oil exploration licensing round (EG Ronda 2016) was launched including all onshore and offshore blocks that are not currently operated or under direct negotiation. A total of 37 blocks, 32 of them offshore, including Block A-12 recently relinquished by Marathon are available.
2015
Nov 2015: The Ministry says that the PSC for the Zafiro field in Block B, operated by ExxonMobil (71.25%), will not be extended. Exxon Mobil has been active in the country since 1995. GEPetrol has 23.75% of Block B and the government holds 5%.
Oct 2015: The Ministry of Mines, Industry and Energy announced it will launch a bidding round for all remaining deep and ultra-deepwater blocks in 2016.
2014
Oct 2014: Ophir (operator, 80%), with partner GEPetrol (20%), announced a successful DST on the Fortuna-2 well in Block R proving the deliverability of the Fortuna gas field. Fortuna will form the first phase of an FLNG development with incremental volumes from the Silenus complex, Tonel field and other smaller discoveries. First gas is planned for 2019.
Sep 2014: Ophir Energy announced that the Silenus East-1 well in Block R has discovered gas. The drillship has now moved to complete the Fortuna-2 appraisal well for the first flow test in Block R. Following the latest wells total recoverable resources for Block R are now estimated at 96 bcm. First gas from the Block R FLNG project is planned for 2019.
Mar 2014: Ophir (operator, 80%) expects to make a Final Investment Decision for development of offshore Block R in 2015 west of Bioko Island in water depths up to 1,950m. Floating LNG is preferred for the gas which needs minimal processing in benign sea conditions. This FLNG plant will be the fourth in the world after Shell’s Prelude and Petronas’s PFLNG 1 and PFLNG 2. First gas is planned for 2018.
Jan 2014: The long term drill stem test on the Diega field in Block I is complete. A horizontal sidetrack drilled 400m of oil pay and was tested for one month at rates of up to 7,300 bbls of oil per day. In 2014 a submission of a plan of development for Diega as a subsea tieback to the Aseng FPSO will be made, targeting first oil in 2016.
2013
Jul 2013: Production from the Alen field, operated by Noble Energy, has started. Produced gas and condensate volumes are increasing as commissioning of wells and facilities proceeds towards full operations. Alen utilises the Aseng FPSO for condensate storage. The sharing of facilities with Aseng will reduce operating costs on both projects.
May 2013: The Carla South exploration well in block I east of Bioko Island encountered approximately 12m of net oil pay in good quality sandstones, extending the proven Carla trend from block O. The well is being side-tracked to an adjacent target. Block I is licensed by operator Noble Energy (38%), Atlas Petroleum (27.55%), Glencore (23.75%), PA Resources (5.7%) and GEPetrol (5%).
Apr 2013: Heerema will construct a new gas compression platform for the Alba gas condensate field 32 kms north of Bioko Island. Installation is scheduled in late 2015 with start-up in mid 2016. The field is operated by Marathon with partners Noble Energy and state-owned GEPetrol.
2012
Nov 2012: The Alen field development in block I will begin producing during the second half of 2013. Noble, the operator has secured the Atwood Hunter rig for a drilling program including an exploration well on the block and an appraisal well on the Diega discovery.
Sep 2012: Ophir (operator, 80%) announced completion of its 2012 drilling program in Block R. All 3 wells found gas with the latest, Fortuna West (R6) in a water depth of 1,758m 3 kms SE of the Fortuna-1 discovery, adding 28 bcm of recoverable resources. Fortuna West is the 6th gas discovery in Block R and is the last in the 3 well drilling programme using the Eirik Raude semisub.
West Africa
