LNG

Golar LNG Ltd shares surged over the weekend as the company entered a definitive agreements with Pan American Energy (PAE) for a 20-year deployment of one of its floating LNG production units in Argentina to tap the vast resources of the Vaca Muerta Shale.

Golar LNG Ltd, the shipping company with a small but growing fleet of floating liquefied natural gas production and project vessels including the “Hilli Episeyo” offshore Cameroon and the “FLNG Gimi” for offshore Mauritania and Senegal, has signed another FLNG accord, this time with Nigeria.

Golar LNG Ltd, the shipping company with a small but growing fleet of floating liquefied natural gas production and project vessels including the “Hilli Episeyo” offshore Cameroon and the “FLNG Gimi” for offshore Mauritania and Senegal, swung to a profit from a previous loss.

Seatrium of Singapore, a leading global company in repairing, upgrading or refitting LNG carriers, has signed a favoured customer contract with a South Korean shipping company.

Côte d’Ivoire President Alassane Ouattara and head of Italy’s Eni announced a major offshore discovery of oil, natural and condensate with many development options for the resources.

The large discovery in block CI-205 has been named the Calao field and is the West African nation’s second-largest ever.

Eni added that only the Baleine field discovered by Eni in September 2021 was bigger.

Côte d’Ivoire President Ouattara and Eni Chief Executive Claudio Descalzi met in the capital Abidjan on March 7 to discuss the successful results of the exploration well called Murene 1X in the Calao find.

The Prime Minister of Côte d’Ivoire, Robert Beugré Mambé, and the Minister of Mines, Petroleum, and Energy, Mamadou Sangafowa-Coulibaly, also participated in the meeting.

Resource boost

The Côte d’Ivoire’s mainly oil production has varied significantly over the past two decades as existing fields have become depleted, closed for maintenance or development works and as new discoveries have been made but have needed further investment and development.

The nation’s regional neighbours to the north, Senegal and Mauritania, are currently developing floating LNG projects, while among its southern neighbours, Nigeria is an established world-scale LNG and oil exporting nation, while Cameroon has a small FLNG project in operation.

Additionally, Eni itself has just brought onstream an FLNG project in the Republic of Congo and the first cargo was shipped to Italy.

The countries of Africa intend to develop their oil and natural gas resources for the benefit of their citizens as Western nations have done for more than 100 years despite opposition to African hydrocarbon projects from environmental elites in the developed countries of Europe and North America.

The Calao discovery was described by Eni as a “very significant” one for the country.

Drilling operations took place about 45 kilometres (28 miles) offshore in block CI-205, reaching a depth of 5,000 metres in water depths of around 2,200 metres.

Analysis

“The well encountered light oil, gas, and condensates in various intervals of Cenomanian age characterized by good to excellent permeability values,” said Eni.

“Preliminary assessments indicate potential resources ranging between 1.0 billion and 1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent,” said the Milan-based company.

Eni operates the block in partnership with the Société Nationale d'Opérations Pétrolières de la Côte d'Ivoire, also known as Petroci.

President Ouattara and Eni CEO Descalzi discussed the appraisal and development plans for the discovery, including Eni’s commitment to meet the country’s domestic needs.

Eni has operated in the Côte d’Ivoire since 2015. In addition to block CI-205, Eni holds participating interests in five other blocks in Ivorian deep waters: CI-101, CI-401, CI-501, CI-801, and CI-802, all in partnership with Petroci .

Eni currently has an equity production of hydrocarbons totalling about 22,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day from the Baleine field, which started production in August 2023. 

Italian major Eni said it had begun to introduce feed gas into the “Tango FLNG” floating production plant ahead of the shipping of the first cargo in a project located offshore the Republic of Congo in West Africa.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) has signed an accord with Chinese shipyard Wison Heavy Industry for the construction of a floating liquefied natural gas production unit to be deployed offshore Nigeria.

Golar LNG Ltd, the shipping company with a small but growing fleet of floating liquefied natural gas production and import project vessels including the “Hilli Episeyo” offshore Cameroon and the “FLNG Gimi” that sailed from Singapore to start a 20-year contract for BP offshore Mauritania and Senegal, posted a 35 percent fall in third-quarter profits on lower prices while revenues remained stable.

The Republic of the Congo and Italian energy major and liquefied natural gas projectdeveloper Eni have witnessed the sail away from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates of two vessels that will comprise the African nation’s first floating LNG production venture.

The two vessels left Dubai at a ceremony attended by Bruno Jean Richard Itoua, Minister of Hydrocarbons of the Republic of the Congo, Maixent Raoul Ominga, Managing Director of state energy company Societe National des Petroles du Congo (SNPC) and Guido Brusco, Chief Operating Officer for Natural Resources for FLNG developer Eni.

Eni said that the “Tango” FLNG vessel that formerly operated in Argentina is now on its way to the West Coast of Africa along with the “Excalibur” floating storage unit (FSU).

“The milestone aligns with the timeline of the Congo LNG project, whose first phase will start-up in December 2023,” said Eni.

FLNG surge

When Congo FLNG starts it will be the third project operating in Africa after Cameroon FLNG, Mozambique FLNG and with other ventures being developed in nations like Nigeria.

Two more FLNG facilities are being developed in joint projects for Senegal and Mauritania in West Africa and involving UK major BP and Dallas, Texas-based Kosmos Energy.

The “Tango” FLNG production hull has a liquefaction capacity of around 1 billion cubic metres per annum of gas.

It will be moored about three kilometres offshore along with the “Excalibur” FSU upon their arrival in Congo territorial waters.

“The Congo LNG project leverages Marine XII natural gas resources and existing production facilities in a new, phased approach that will be allowed to reach approximately 4.5 Bcm a year of gas liquefaction capacity at plateau, as well as zero routine gas flaring,” Eni explained.

The Milan-based company added that a second FLNG vessel with a capacity of about 3.5 Bcm of gas is under construction and will be deployed in 2025.

“The project will help the Republic of the Congo meet its energy needs while seizing the opportunity to exploit surplus gas through LNG production, allowing the country to join the group of global exporters of LNG in record time,” stated Eni.

“According to the agreements recently signed, all LNG produced will be marketed by Eni,” the company added. 

Golar LNG Ltd, the shipping company now specialising in a small but growing fleet of floating liquefied natural gas production and import project vessels, said the “Hilli Episeyo” had seen its 100th cargo lifted from offshore Cameroon in West Africa.