Petronas To Join Total Offshore Senegal
Malaysian state Petronas said August 13 it recently signed a farm-in agreement to acquire from Total a 30% stake in the Rufisque Offshore Profond block, marking its entry into Senegal.
Total will maintain its operatorship with 60% equity, while Senegal's state upstream firm Petrosen will retain 10%. No transaction value was disclosed.
Rufisque Offshore Profond block covers an area of 10,357 km2, offshore Senegal with a water depth ranging from 100m to 3000m. It was one of two licences handed by the Senegalese government to Total in May 2017, prompting erstwhile operator African Petroleum to lodge a request for arbitration against Senegal.
The block is close to recent significant oil and gas discoveries in blocks namely St Louis Profond and Cayar Profond (both Kosmos/BP) and Rufisque, Sangomar and Sangomar Deep licences (Cairn/Woodside).
Petronas said that exploration drilling on the block would begin in 2019, following interpretation of acquired 3D seismic data and once a prospect has been identified. It said the farm-in is aligned with its upstream strategy to grow its exploration portfolio in West Africa, where it is already operator of an ultra-deep water block in Gabon and looking to explore further in the region.