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    Equatorial Guinea LNG Backfilling On Track: Malabo

Summary

Despite the turmoil in the oil market, the gas export project is due to receive more gas later this year.

by: William Powell

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Natural Gas & LNG News, Africa, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), Premium, Corporate, Exploration & Production, Import/Export, Investments, Political, Ministries, News By Country, Equatorial Guinea

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Equatorial Guinea LNG Backfilling On Track: Malabo

While some elements of upstream work programmes offshore Equatorial Guinea will be delayed by Covid-19, other key energy projects remain on track, such as Noble Energy and Marathon Oil’s Alen backfill project for the LNG export terminal, Equatorial Guinea’s ministry of mines and hydrocarbons said May 4.

Pipelines for the development have already been installed, and gas feed from the Alen and Aseng fields to the onshore processing facilities at the EG LNG Plant in Punta Europa is set to come online by November, it said.

However, it said it would extend exploration licences for two years and relax capital expenditure requirements for the mainly US producers amid the low-price climate and reduction in oil demand caused by Covid-19.

“We learned from the crisis in 2014/2015 that we need to give extensions to exploration companies to ensure that they save cash,” said hydrocarbons minister Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima. “Liquidity is very important right now. The last thing we want is for [companies] to decide that it is not economical to operate in-country.”

Dallas-based Kosmos Energy will receive an extension to analyze regional data and continue geological surveys of its interests in four offshore exploration blocks (EG-21, EG-24, S and W), with a view to resume drilling programs and yield discoveries in 2021.

Houston-based Vaalco Energy will also receive an extension to develop strong prospects identified in offshore Block P, in which it holds a 31% participating interest.

African independent Atlas Oranto, which recently established an outpost in Houston, will continue its development of Block H, in which Phase 1 of the production-sharing contract has been completed and the highly prospective Aleta asset has been identified.

The Nigeria-based explorer also holds a stake in Block EG-02, in which initial interpretation of seismic survey indicates some of the largest hydrocarbon reserves in the region and depicts similarities to discoveries in Blocks I and O in the Douala Basin.

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