Africa is making strides to expand its oil and gas reserves, with multiple countries introducing new licensing rounds and accelerating ongoing ones. Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to spearhead this growth, with more than 11 licensing rounds planned for 2024 and 2025. Nigeria Unveils 2024 Deepwater Bid Round The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission launched the Nigeria License Round 2024 in April 2024, offering 19 oil and gas blocks. The round includes 12 new oil blocks and seven
Recent oil and gas discoveries throughout the continent, including Namibia’s Mopane 1X and 2X, are spurring new drilling campaigns and investments across Africa. Global E&P companies are ramping up exploration activities to unlock fresh reserves and maximize the Africa’s offshore potential with a number of high-impact wells planned for 2024 and 2025. Up to 70% of wells drilled in Africa will be in frontier and emerging basins. Set to dominate the global high-impact well drilling
Oil companies operating in Namibia are set to benefit from increased efficiency and cost savings as energy technology company Baker Hughes moves forward with plans to construct a liquid mud unit (LMU) in the country. The initiative aims to address challenges associated with importing drilling fluids from Angola, streamlining operations and supporting the growing offshore exploration activity in Namibia. According to Tokunbo Azeez, Baker Hughes’ executive director for sub-Saharan Africa, the current practice of importing
In March, Angolan oil production surged to 34,897,176 barrels, averaging 1,125,715 barrels per day (bpd), surpassing the projected 1,054,463 bpd, as revealed in the Monthly Summary on Oil Production released by ANPG. The report, accessible on the National Petroleum, Gas, and Biofuels Agency (ANPG) website, indicates that associated gas production for the same period reached 85,209 million cubic feet, with a daily average of 2,749 million cubic feet. Furthermore, the report outlines that 1,538 million
Azule Energy, an Angolan company, and Rhino Resources Namibia have inked a significant agreement (Farm-In) granting Azule Energy a 42.5 percent interest in the exploration of Block 2914 A. This block lies within Namibia’s Orange basin, where major oil discoveries have been made since 2022. Currently, Rhino operates the venture with an 85 percent stake, alongside Namcor Exploration and Production (Proprietary) Limited (10%) and Namibian company Korres Investments (Pty) Ltd (5%). The agreement outlines a
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has launched its 2024 licensing round that features 12 oil blocks, combined with 5 deep offshore assets from last year’s round. Available through January 2025, the acreage on offer includes but is not limited to 6 greenfield oil blocks situated on the continental shelf, 4 deep offshore blocks and 2 onshore blocks in the Niger Delta. The Commission is seeking to establish an investment-friendly environment by ensuring regulatory
Transitional energy company Chariot has initiated drilling operations for the RZK-1 well, marking its first exploration well of 2024. Situated within Morocco’s onshore Loukos license, the Gaufrette prospect serves as the focal point for this drilling campaign. The primary objective of the drilling endeavor is to tap into an estimated 10 billion cubic feet (bcf) of natural gas resources. However, Chariot’s strategy includes plans to deepen the well in order to access potentially larger reserves.
China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) is dispatching a delegation of senior executives to Angola to explore investment prospects in oil exploration, aligning with Angola’s goal of ramping up production to 1.18 million barrels per day (bpd). Despite a recent decline in exports, China is keen on enhancing investment in Angola’s exploration and production sector, reaffirming the long-standing energy ties between the two nations. Angola, a major oil supplier to China in sub-Saharan Africa, has
Canadian Natural Resources, Canada’s largest oil and gas producer, revealed plans on Thursday to explore opportunities for a substantial boost in bitumen output at its primary oil sands mine, Horizon. President Scott Stauth announced a potential expansion of 195,000 barrels per day (b/d) at the Horizon mining and upgrading plant in northern Alberta, surpassing earlier projections of 75,000 b/d. The company aims to leverage advanced engineering and scaling processes to enhance production capabilities. Currently, Horizon
In the first quarter, the government’s expenditure on fuel procurement decreased by 21%, totaling US$769 million, according to the head of the sector. Luis Fernandes, Director-General of the Petroleum Derivatives Regulatory Institute (IRD), provided detailed insights, revealing that 1.2 million metric tons of fuel were purchased during this period. Diesel accounted for 51.3% of the purchased fuel, followed by gasoline at 35.5%, fuel oil at 7.7%, JET A1 (aircraft fuel) at 4.5%, illuminating oil at
