(OE) Offshore drilling rig contracting activity in West Africa is finally picking up as confidence slowly returns to the region. Esgian has previously reported that the US Gulf of Mexico and Brazil have already witnessed substantial recovery in the deepwater rig market. However, the final point in the golden triangle, West Africa, has struggled with sluggish growth, with current... Continue Reading →
Eni CEO, Ivory Coast President Discuss Future Plans for Giant Offshore Discovery
Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara and Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi met Friday to discuss the progress of Eni's activities in the country, following the giant offshore oil discovery of Baleine 1-X. As previously reported, Eni in September announced the major oil discovery in block CI-101, in what was the company's first exploration well drilled in the... Continue Reading →
EXCLUSIVE BP, Eni seek to raise $2 bln for Angola joint venture
(Reuters) - BP (BP.L) and Eni (ENI.MI) are seeking to raise up to $2 billion for their emerging oil and gas joint venture in Angola as both firms attempt to reduce their own debt to help build up renewables businesses, banking and industry sources said. BP and Eni announced in May that they had entered into talks to merge... Continue Reading →
Brent dips after topping $80 a barrel, highest since Oct 2018
(Reuters) - Brent oil dipped on Tuesday after topping $80 per barrel for the first time in nearly three years, as a five-day rally ran out of steam with investors locking in profits. Oil benchmark prices have been on a tear, with fuel demand growing and traders expecting major oil-producing nations will decide to keep... Continue Reading →
As OPEC Reopens the Taps, African Giants Losing Race to Pump More
(OE) Top African oil exporters Nigeria and Angola will struggle to boost output to their OPEC quota levels until at least next year as underinvestment and nagging maintenance problems continue to hobble output, sources at their respective oil firms warn. Their battle mirrors that of several other members of the OPEC+ group who curbed production... Continue Reading →
Eni fires up second offshore project in Angola this year
Italian oil and gas company Eni has started production from the Cabaça North development project, in Block 15/06 of the Angolan deep offshore, via the Armada Olombendo FPSO. The Cabaça North development, with an expected peak production rate in the range of 15 kbopd, will increase and sustain the plateau of the Armada Olombendo. The... Continue Reading →
ExxonMobil Hires PGS for 3D Seismic Survey in Suriname
U.S. oil major ExxonMobil has awarded Norwegian offshore seismic data acquisition firm PGS a contract for a 3D survey offshore Suriname. PGS' 104.2 meters long Ramform Tethys seismic vessel is scheduled to start the acquisition during the fourth quarter of 2021, and it is planned to complete in the first quarter of 2022. The vessel... Continue Reading →
Nigeria Sees 2022 Oil Output of 1.88 mln bpd, GDP Growth of 4.2%
The Nigerian government expects the country to produce 1.88 million barrels per day of crude oil in 2022 and will use a benchmark oil price of $57 per barrel for its budget planning, according to a document approved by the Senate on Wednesday. The Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), a crucial part of the annual budget... Continue Reading →
Offshore Seismic Vessel Utilization Hits Pre-pandemic Levels, Rystad Says
Vessel utilization in the offshore oil and gas seismic data acquisition sector has reached pre-pandemic levels in the third quarter of 2021, Rystad Energy has found. Rystad, a Norway-based energy industry intelligence firm, said that, after several devastating quarters caused by the pandemic, the seismic fleet’s hibernation is now over, with around 68% of the fleet... Continue Reading →
Angolan oil giant Sonangol lost $4 billion last year in pandemic
(Reuters) - Angolan state oil giant Sonangol registered a $4.1 billion net loss in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic hollowed out sales and the company struggles to lighten its large debt with asset sales, according to its annual results published this week. The company is the engine of Angola's economy and central to a state... Continue Reading →