Licensing & Concessions

Egypt launches tender to explore oil deposits in the Red Sea

November 30, 2018 | Egypt, Licensing & Concessions

Cairo, Egypt |  –  Egypt will launch the first international tender for the exploration of oil and gas in the Red Sea next December, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy announced on Wednesday in this capital. The government is carrying out a seismic study on the east coast of the North African country to identify potential resource areas, said the head of the South Valley Egyptian Petroleum Holding Company, Mohamed Abdel-Azim. The official said that the company has been working with the US firm Schlumberger …

South Africa agrees to process some gas, oil exploration licences

November 30, 2018 | Licensing & Concessions, South Africa

Cape Town, South Africa |  – South Africa will relax a moratorium on gas and oil exploration licences implemented earlier this year to allow exploration and production applications already in the system to be granted, a government minister said on Thursday. “This amendment will ensure that applications currently in our system are processed and granted,” Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe told an oil and gas industry meeting. In June, Mantashe published a notice in the government gazette announcing a restriction on the granting of technical …

Multinational oil giants granted exclusive rights for Block 5 offshore Mozambique

August 08, 2018 | Government & Regulations, Licensing & Concessions, Mozambique

London, UK | – The Government of Mozambique has approved a series of contracts giving exclusive concession rights to major oil companies to explore Block 5 for oil offshore Mozambique, after concluding four years of negotiations, disrupted by delays. The contracts would give new exploration project concessions to energy companies, namely Norway’s Equinor, Italy’s Eni, ExxonMobil, Delonex Energy, and South African-based Sasol, as well as Mozambique’s national oil company ENH. GlobalData senior oil and gas analyst Will Scargill said: “Little exploration work has been carried …

Gambia to market oil blocks disputed by African Petroleum

November 10, 2017 | Government & Regulations, Licensing & Concessions, West Africa

London, UK | – Gambia plans to market two offshore oil blocks that African Petroleum says it still legally holds, the country’s minister of justice said on Friday. Norwegian-listed African Petroleum said in October it had launched arbitration proceedings against the Gambian government to defend its exploration rights. Licenses for the two blocks expired in September 2016 but the oil company had been in talks with the government until earlier this year to extend the exploration period. African Petroleum has previously said the terms of …

Tullow Oil awarded four licences in Côte d’Ivoire

October 13, 2017 | Company Operations, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Licensing & Concessions

London, UK | – British African-focused  multinational oil and gas exploration company, Tullow Oil Plc has announced that it has acquired 90% stakes in four onshore blocks in Côte d’Ivoire. Petroci, the national oil company of Côte d’Ivoire, holds the remaining 10%. The four blocks – CI 518, CI519, CI301 and CI302 – cover 5,035 km2 and located on the coastline of Côte d’Ivoire mostly to the west of Abidjan. Tullow believes that this acreage will complement the Group’s existing exploration portfolio as the blocks are …

Egypt prepares to handle first state-owned IPO in 12 years

July 06, 2017 | Egypt, Government & Regulations, Licensing & Concessions

Cairo, Egypt | – Egypt has picked a consortium led by CI Capital to act as lead managers and bookrunners for a stock market listing of oil company Engineering for the Petroleum and Process Industries (ENPPI), the country’s first initial public offering (IPO) of a state-owned company in 12 years. The consortium also includes Jefferies International Limited and Emirates NBD Capital Limited, the Investment Ministry said on Wednesday. The government is launching an IPO program that will offer shares in dozens of state-owned companies over …

Uganda to finalize oil exploration deal with Nigeria’s Oranto Petroleum

June 21, 2017 | Exploration / Discoveries, Licensing & Concessions, Uganda

London, UK | – Uganda is set to sign two oil production sharing agreements with a Nigerian oil firm, enabling the company to begin exploration work, the government said on June 14. The signing is expected on June 15. The firm, Oranto Petroleum International, was among a number of companies that bid in the country’s first competitive oil exploration licensing round last year, with two other Nigerian firms and Australia’s Armour Energy also getting through to final negotiations for the award of the PSAs. The …

Angola’s Sonangol cancels auction for eight oil blocks

May 19, 2017 | Angola, Commodities & Oilprice, Licensing & Concessions

London, UK | –  Angola’s state oil company Sonangol has cancelled an auction of oil exploration licences for eight blocks, blaming the drop in oil prices since the bidding opened. “The remarkable drop in the price of the oil barrel and the economic and financial situation of the country and the world, have negatively influenced the viability of the oil concessions,” Sonangol said in a statement. The round includes five blocks in the Kwanza basin and three on the Lower Congo. Sonangol said the new …