It is reported that the exploration and production company will acquire a 14.24 working interest in Equatorial Guinea’s Block G and a 10 percent working interest in Gabon’s Dussafu Marin permit. Equatorial Guinea’s Block G is operated by Trident Energy.

John Hamilton, CEO, Panoro Energy, told the media, “It’s a transformational deal. We have incredibly supportive shareholders, who have encouraged us to grow. Sometimes the stars and the moon align, and we have had a great coming together with Tullow.”

Under the terms of the agreement, the transaction includes an $89 million upfront cash consideration. However, the transaction is subject to ‘customary completion adjustments and contingent cash payments of up to $16 million’ which is associated with the asset performance and oil price, media reports said.

Rahul Dhir, CEO of Tullow Oil, told the media, that the agreements will “have a positive effect on our financial position, as we look to further reduce our net debt and continue constructive discussions with our creditors. These transactions are also in line with our strategy of investing our capital on cash-generative, high return investment opportunities in our core portfolio.”

It seems that the exploration work in Gabon had significantly slowed down due to lockdown measures as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Panoro and BW Energy seek to complete the Torque development with the drilling of two wells, media reports said.

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Under the terms of a budget bill which is under review, oil production over the next fiscal year will be 10.5 million tons or nearly 210,000 barrels per day. This reduction in oil production will be in line with the decision made by the Organisation for Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and its allies in production cuts. 

Last year, oil production in the company had stood at  220,000 barrels per day, media reports said. However, the official figures for the production are yet to be released this year and the figures for next year are anticipated to be lower on the back of the continued cuts by Opec+. 

That said, Assala Energy is investing $24 million to modernise the oil giant’s Gamba export infrastructure. It is reported that that export is important to the Gabonese economy as 30 percent of crude oil exports in the country pass through it. Daniel Marini, Managing Director of Assala Gabon, told the media, “Despite the global economic crisis, the uncertainties linked to the price of oil and the current health crisis, we remain very confident in Gabon’s capacity to stay a strong petroleum player in Central Africa. This investment also testifies to the concrete progress of our program to modernize key infrastructure, in order to produce Gabonese oil in a clean and sustainable manner.”

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That said, Gabon launched a licencing round in 2018 on the back of the government’s push to increase exploration and oil output. Vaalco Energy’s chief executive Cary Bounds, told the media, “We are committed to Gabon. We have focused on reducing operating costs and, fortunately, have no capex required in the near term—we can defer this for now. All this has put the company on the right footing in the current uncertain environment.”

It is reported that the company also plans to acquire a stake in South Africa-based Sasol’s Etame field. Valco Energy will acquire 27. 75 stake in the field.

More recently, Sasol has invited bidders to participate in developing two 10 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) facilities in South Africa, media reports said. Sasol’s chief sustainability officer Hermann Wenhold, told the media, “We are excited to launch the RFP, which forms part of our broader greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction aspiration and moves us forward on our journey to achieving our target of a 10% GHG emission reduction by 2030.”

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