LNG

GALP Energia, the Portuguese oil and gas company, has agreed to cash in its 10 percent stake in the Area 4 concession in the Rovuma Basin of Mozambique operated by Italy’s Eni by selling it to Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), the main energy operator in the United Arab Emirates.

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi confirmed that Islamist terrorists had occupied the town of Macomia in a northern part of Cabo Delgado, Mozambique’s province where an onshore LNG plant is being constructed further south and may now face more delays.

The Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Co. (EGAS), the government-run energy company with stakes in Egypt’s two LNG export plants and other gas field assets, has established a subsidiary in Saudi Arabia to help attract more investment.

Egypt's Ministry of Petroleum said that the Saudi unit had been set up by EGAS with initial capital of 2 million Saudi riyals ($533,000).

The Egyptians said in their statement that EGAS would own 80 percent of the venture called “Modern Gas Saudi Arabia” and explained that it would be part of the Egypt’s strategy for offshore expansion in the East Mediterranean in cooperation with other Arab nations such as the United Arab Emirates.

EGAS has various stakes, direct and indirect, in Egypt’s expansive oil and gas assets and the two LNG export plants, Damietta and Idku, located east of the port city of Alexandria.

ADNOC-BP deal

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and UK major BP said in Mid-February 2024 that they planned to form a joint venture in Egypt that would initially focus on natural gas and incorporate Egyptian concession stakes held by BP.

That joint venture is expected to be formed in the second half of 2024 and will be 51 percent owned by BP and 49 percent by ADNOC.

The BP-ADNOC Egyptian joint venture was originally planned to be the second phase of cooperation between the two companies in the East Med gas and LNG province after the planned acquisition of a 50 percent stake in Israeli gas producer NewMed Energy.

Negotiations on the proposed NewMed agreement for BP and ADNOC started in March 2023, though have now been officially suspended.

As part of the agreement for Egyptian expansion and energy investment by ADNOC, BP will contribute its interests in three development concessions, as well as exploration agreements in Egypt to the new joint venture.

ADNOC will make a proportionate cash contribution which can be used for future growth opportunities.

Gas fields

This is the first major natural gas deal for BP under new Chief Executive Murray Auchincloss.

Both companies said that this new joint venture partnership would enhance Egyptian energy security and the economic potential of the region’s most populous Arab country.

The natural gas concession to be included in the Egyptian joint venture include BP’s 10 percent in the Shorouk block containing Egypt’s huge Zohr gas field.

BP’s 100-percent owned North Damietta interests are also included along with BP’s 50-percent stake in the North El Burg concession with the undeveloped Satis field.

Three other exploration concession included are North El Tabya, Bellatrix-Seti East and the North El Fayrouz block.

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.

Angola, a liquefied natural gas exporter in the Atlantic Basin for more than 10 years, said it was leaving the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries because membership of the crude oil cartel was not serving its interests.

QatarEnergy has completed the integration of all marketing and market-related activities formerly managed by QatarEnergy LNG into the parent company QatarEnergy as the Gulf nation progresses with expanded production ventures.

Côte d'Ivoire has celebrated the ramp-up of the Baleine oil and gas field as part of a world-class hub of oil, pipeline natural gas and LNG exports and imports being built out to improve economic prosperity in West Africa from Mauritania in the North to Angola in the South.

The President of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara, and Claudio Descalzi, the Chief Executive of Italian major Eni, met in the African nation’s economic capital, Abidjan, to mark the production ramp-up at the Baleine field.

The Baleine project is offshore block CI-101 and is believed to hold up to 2.0 billion barrels of oil in place and 2.4 trillion cubic feet of associated gas located at water depth of 1,200 metres.

Largest discovery

Baleine was discovered in 2021 as the largest commercial discovery in the country in the last 20 years and is now set to contribute substantially to energy production in the Côte d'Ivoire after starting production in September.

The Côte d'Ivoire’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, Ghana plans LNG imports and Angola is a major oil and gas nation.

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.

Eni’s partner in the Baleine project and other ventures is the African nation's state energy company, Société Nationale d'Opérations Pétrolières de la Côte d'Ivoire (Petroci).

In addition to the CI-101 block, Eni owns stakes in four other blocks in the Ivorian deepwater. They are CI-205, CI-501, CI-504 and CI-802, all with the same partner Petroci.

Output

“Oil production from Baleine stands at 20,000 barrels per day, far exceeding the initial anticipated 12,000 barrels per day,” Eni explained.

“The project is set to reach its plateau of 50,000 barrels of oil per day by the end of 2024. Upon completion of the second development phase and full field development it is then  expected to enable the production of up to 150,000 barrels per day,” Eni added.

“Baleine's gas production is entirely destined for the domestic market, strengthening access to energy in Côte d'Ivoire,” stated the Milan-based company.

Eni said that the meeting between President Ouattara and CEO Descalzi covered other initiatives that Eni is carrying out to advance economic diversification in addition to contributing to the country's energy needs and prosperity.

Bio-refineries

“Among these, it is worth mentioning the production of vegetable oil to supply Eni’s bio-refineries, an operation that recently began in Côte d'Ivoire and which leverages waste from rubber production,” CEO Descalzi explained.

“This project will feed our bio-refineries with sustainable feedstock, while at the same time integrating Côte d'Ivoire in the value chain of biofuels, generating a positive impact for the families of local farmers with whom we collaborate through long-term agreements,” Descalzi stated.

“This initiative offers additional income for 100,000 families that have already joined the program,” he added.

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. 

Italian oil and gas company Eni has followed up its agreed $4.9 billion acquisition of UK-listed Neptune Energy by buying natural gas assets from Chevron Corp. in Indonesia with LNG production potential.

Eni has agreed to buy Chevron’s interests in the Kutei Basin offshore East Kalimantan in Indonesia for an undisclosed sum.

When the deal is completed Eni will take over the Chevron operatorships in the production sharing contracts in the Indonesian Blocks named the Ganal PSC (Chevron 62 percent), the Rapak PSC (Chevron 62 percent) and the Makassar Straits PSC (Chevron 72 percent).

Eni already has a 20 percent interest as non-operator in the Ganal and Rapak Blocks.

The acquired Neptune assets include PSCs operated with Eni producing feed gas for LNG exports from the Bontang LNG plant under long-term contracts, as well as gas for the Indonesian domestic market.

Expansion

Neptune’s main stakes are in the Jangkrik and Merakes gas fields and Eni is now further strengthening its operatorships in the region where there was still “significant exploration potential” in the Kutei Basin.

The Milan-based company explained that the acquisition of the Chevron assets was an important step, particularly for the opportunity to fast-track the development of the Gendalo and Gandang gas project, a part of the Indonesia Deepwater Development (IDD) in the Ganal PSC, close to the Jangkrik Floating Production unit, with estimated natural gas reserves of around 2 trillion cubic feet.

“This is in addition to the producing Bangka gas field, the Gehem and Ranggas discoveries and the significant exploration potential also included in the northern part of the asset, which therefore represent a further relevant consolidation for Eni operations in the East Kalimantan area,” Eni added.

“The acquisition of Chevron's assets in Indonesia will allow Eni to fast-track the development of the IDD project, leveraging its strong presence in East Kalimantan as well as the synergies with Eni-operated Jangkrik infrastructures, the existing Bontang LNG facility and the domestic gas market,” Eni stated.

Eni said the acquisitions were in line with the company’s aim of increasing its share of natural gas production to 60 percent of its overall hydrocarbon total by 2030.

Eni’s first exploration agreement in Indonesia dates back to 1968 and its current net production amounts to about 80,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Global gas

The company’s agreed acquisition of Neptune includes assets far beyond Indonesia and includes key global LNG stakes and gas field assets in Algeria, Norway, the UK, the Netherlands and Australia.

Under the terms of the Neptune takeover Eni agreed to purchase Neptune for $2.6Bln and Eni’s Norwegian-listed subsidiary Vår Energi has agreed to pay $2.3Bln to acquire Neptune’s operations in Norway.

Eni also explained that many of Neptune's existing natural gas contracts would expire in the next 12 months, giving the company the opportunity to integrate these within its own pipeline gas and LNG portfolio.

Neptune was owned by equity finds with China Investment Corp. holding a 49 percent stake, the US Carlyle group owning 30.6 percent and the Luxembourg-based French asset management firm CVC Partners holding 20.4 percent. 

Italian energy major Eni has delivered the first commercial liquefied natural gas shipment to the nation’s fourth import terminal at the Tuscan port of Piombino.