Equatorial Guinea’s minister for mines and hydrocarbons Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima has signed several MoU with bidders of the country’s 2019 Licensing Round.
The government of Equatorial Guinea last year offered 27 free blocks for exploration. The licensing round generated interest from 53 companies and resulted in 17 bids.
The memorandums with the winning companies were signed on the sidelines of the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Forum in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
According to African Energy Chamber, MoUs have been signed for Block EG-27 with Lukoil and GEPetrol (Niger Basin, offshore), EG-23 with WalterSmith, Hawtai Energy and GEPetrol (Niger Basin offshore), EG-09 with Noble Energy and GEPetrol (Duala Basin, offshore), EG-18 with Africa Oil Corporation and GEPetrol (Rio Muni basin, offshore), EG-03, EG-04, EG-19 and Block P with Vaalco Energy, Levene Energy and GEPetrol (Rio Muni Basin, onshore) and EG-28 with GEPetrol (Rio Muni Basin, offshore). The signing of these MoUs is a first step towards the fast completion of the Production Sharing Contracts.
Apart from signing the agreements for oil and gas blocks, the ministry also signed MoUs with Blue Magnolia, who was assigned seven blocks for copper, rare earth elements, PGE, gold, lead, uranium, and bauxite among others; Oro Sac ACorp (M-Partners), who was assigned four blocks for gold, platinum, copper, zinc, lead and nickel; Akoga Resources, who was assigned two blocks for PGE, nickel, copper, cobalt, gold and lithium among others; Manhattan Mining Investment Inc, who was assigned one block for gold, and finally Shefa Minerals who was also assigned one block for gold.
Mbaga Obiang Lima, Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons said: "The results coming out of the EG Ronda 2019 were very encouraging and we hope to see a robust and sustained exploration activity in Equatorial Guinea once these contracts are signed. In 2020, the Year of Investment will see the signing and execution of several such contracts and projects, not only in upstream but also midstream and downstream.”
African Energy Chamber has noted that exploration activity has been slowly recovering in the Gulf of Guinea.
"In 2019 for instance, Noble Energy announced a discovery after drilling the Aseng 6P well at a depth of 4,000 meters in Equatorial Guinea, confirming expectations that the country remains a promising frontier for oil and gas exploration. Recent discoveries are expected to add an additional 20,000 bopd to Equatorial Guinea’s oil production this year," African Energy Chamber said Monday.