East African energy boom investments to take focus in budgets

Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania plan to allocate money in their annual budgets to spur investment in infrastructure to exploit oil and natural gas from deposits that companies including Tullow Oil are developing.

Ugandan and Kenyan oil discoveries, made in 2006 and 2012 respectively, and new gas finds off the coast of Tanzania that have boosted reserves to as much as 46 Tcf have seen East Africa become a frontier for petroleum exploration.

The three countries, along with Rwanda, which are all members of the East African Community, will present their budget statements for the financial year starting July 1.

The Kenyan Finance Ministry said in its 2014 budget policy statement that the government wants to “fast track” building a pipeline to export the crude.

Kenya also expects to increase its spending on infrastructure by 15% $2.9 billion in 2014-15 from a year earlier, according to the Treasury’s budget policy statement.

Tanzania is building the $1.23 billion Mtwara gas pipeline project with a loan from the Export-Import Bank of China, while Statoil and BG Group, are working on a project to build a LNG export plant. The government plans to present new natural gas rules to parliament in November aimed at helping the country get more benefit from its natural resources.

Providing useful resources, articles and writings on crude oil, other petroleum products, energy and gas. By Giftelyon Multi-Sevices Int'l Ltd and services, UK, online.

Pura Vida upgrades reserve estimate for Nkembe block

Pura Vida Energy has announced an upgrade to its prospective resource assessment of the Nkembe PSC, offshore Gabon. Further technical work undertaken by the company has revealed a significant new play in the pre-salt within the Syn-rift interval where carbonate Coquinas reservoirs are anticipated to be present.

The inclusion of newly identified prospects increases the total gross mean unrisked prospective resources on block to 1,680 mmbo, 1,344 mmbo net to Pura Vida. The carbonate play is analogous to similar plays that have resulted in the discovery of several billion barrels of discovered oil offshore Angola and offshore Brazil. Pura Vida’s technical work has also identified several areas which contain multiple stacked prospects that have the potential to be attractive drill candidates that could be tested with a single vertical well.

Based on new interpretation on recent reprocessed seismic data undertaken by Pura Vida, the estimated net mean prospective resources on the Nkembe block has increased from 815 mmbo to 1,344 mmbo.
 
Pura Vida has identified several areas within the Nkembe block that contain multiple stacked targets. The drilling of stacked targets provides the ability to test prospects at differing stratigraphic levels through a single vertical well. Intersecting multiple prospects saves on drilling costs, increases the overall chance of making a commercial discovery, and in the event of success, allows for potential aggregation of resource potential.

The Moveni region in the south-western part of the block contains stacked prospects at the Gamba, Dentale and Syn-rift carbonate levels which have a net mean prospective resource un-risked potential of 286 mmbo and 603 mmbo respectively. A single well at this location has the potential to test a combined net prospective resource of 890 mmbo.

Dentex prospects directly overlie the larger and significant pre-salt level referred to as Palomite Deep. Of particular interest to Pura Vida is the Pompano prospect within the Palomite cluster, where stacked targets from the Batanga, Lower Anguille and the Cap Lopez lie directly above the Palomite Deep pre-salt play where the Gamba, Dentale and the Syn-rift carbonates are stacked. The combined net mean prospective resource, un-risked, potential of Pompano and Palomite Deep is 320 mmbo.

The Loba Oil Field also overlies the Loba Deep sub-salt target which provides an opportunity for a combination of a lower risk appraisal well for a production test of the post-salt Loba discovery with a test of the Loba Deep sub-salt exploration target.

Providing useful resources, articles and writings on crude oil, other petroleum products, energy and gas. By Giftelyon Multi-Sevices Int'l Ltd and services, UK, online.

Rosneft and Mozambique’s ENH sign MoU

Igor Sechin, President & Chairman, Rosneft, Nelson Ocuane, President, Mozambique National Oil Co (ENH) and Paulino Gregorio, Director, ENH signed a Memorandum of Understanding at the 21st World Petroleum Congress on June 16, 2014.

Under the Memorandum, the parties will look into areas of mutual interest and cooperation, including joint bidding in upcoming hydrocarbons exploration and production licensing rounds in the Republic of Mozambique.

Providing useful resources, articles and writings on crude oil, other petroleum products, energy and gas. By Giftelyon Multi-Sevices Int'l Ltd and services, UK, online.

Eni buys 40% stake in Sasol field off South Africa

Eni has concluded an agreement with Sasol Petroleum International to acquire a 40% interest and operatorship in the Exploration Right permit 236 (ER236) in South Africa.

The permit grants the right to explore for hydrocarbons on a wide offshore unexplored area of 82,000 sq km on South Africa’s east coast (Durban and Zululand basins), Kwazulu-Natal province.

The permit was granted to Sasol by the South African regulator Petroleum Agency of South Africa (PASA) in late 2013.

Exploration

The agreement, which is subject to Government approval, reinforces Eni’s position on the East Africa coast, where Eni is already present with exploration activities in Mozambique and in Kenya.

The farm-in agreement forms part of a wider cooperation between Sasol and Eni in Southern Africa and other areas, mainly focused on maximizing opportunities in the gas value chain.

Providing useful resources, articles and writings on crude oil, other petroleum products, energy and gas. By Giftelyon Multi-Sevices Int'l Ltd and services, UK, online.