EQUATORIAL Guinea has announced the winners of its EG Ronda 2016 bidding round, welcoming two new entrants.
Dublin-headquartered Clontarf Energy came out on top for Block EG-18 while Offshore Equator picked up EG-23. The other five winners were companies with a current presence in Equatorial Guinea, such as Ophir Energy. The UK player won Block EG-24.
Atlas Petroleum and the Strategic Fuel Front were announced as the winners for EG-10, with Nigeria’s Taleveras landing EG-07. Elenilto Group, finally, was awarded Block EG-09.
Twenty-three companies had expressed interest in the Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons’ EG Ronda2016, with 12 submitting bids.
‘Some of the companies are majors, some are minors, but the important thing is that they are companies dedicated and willing to do exploration and that is the thing that needs to be done,’ minister Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima said in comments on the round.
Speaking on the topic of the Fortuna FLNG project, Obiang Lima said that Shell, Gunvor and Vitol were in pole-position for an off-take agreement, with a final decision expected in August.
In a related development, Exxon Mobil Corporation has announced that its wholly owned affiliate, Exploration and Production Equatorial Guinea (Deepwater) Ltd., has signed a production sharing contract with the government of Equatorial Guinea for a deepwater block located 36 mi west of Malabo.
‘We look forward to building on our more than 20-year history of safe operations in Equatorial Guinea with this new high-quality exploration opportunity,’ said Steve Greenlee, president of Exxon Mobil Exploration Company. ‘We are excited to add block EG-11 to our leading global deepwater acreage position and to expand the value of our important business in Equatorial Guinea.’
Deepwater block EG-11 measures about 307,000 acres (1,242 km2) and is adjacent to Zafiro field, located in Block B.
Following ratification of the contract by the government, Exxon Mobil will carry out the work program as operator with an 80 percent working interest. GEPetrol holds a 20 percent working interest.
The contract includes a commitment to acquire new and reprocess existing 3D seismic data. Exxon Mobil will also work with the government of Equatorial Guinea to further develop the national workforce.
Mobil Equatorial Guinea Inc. operates Zafiro field with 71.25 percent interest. GEPetrol has 23.75 percent interest and Equatorial Guinea has 5 percent. The field is in water depths between 400 ft and 2,800 ft and has produced more than 1 Bbbl in its more than 20 years of production. Exxon Mobil Exploration and Production Equatorial Guinea (Offshore) Ltd. holds an 80 percent interest in block EG-06, which is adjacent to block EG-11.