Production sharing contracts inked for two shallow-water blocks offshore Gabon

The partners behind two exploration blocks in shallow waters offshore Gabon have signed production sharing contracts (PSCs) with the country’s Petroleum Minister and Minister of Economy.

The agreements for Niosi Marin and Guduma Marin exploration blocks, formerly named G12-13 and H12-13, were approved by the government of Gabon. The partners in the PSC are BW Energy, which is the operator holding a 37.5% interest, followed by Vaalco Energy with 37.5% and Panoro Energy with 25%.

The PSC covering the Niosi block has an initial exploration period of five years with a work commitment to acquire new 3D seismic data and drill one well, while the one covering the Guduma block has an initial exploration period of three years with a work commitment to carry out geological and geophysical studies. Both come with an extension option and the possibility to enter a second phase with an additional well commitment. 

The Niosi and Guduma blocks cover a surface area of 2,974 and 1,927 square kilometers, respectively, and are situated adjacent to the producing Dussafu license, in which BW Energy holds a 73.5% operated interest, Panoro 17.5%, and Gabon Oil Company a 9% interest.

John Hamilton, CEO of Panoro, said: “Panoro has been present in Gabon since 2008, during which time we have organically grown reserves and production at the Dussafu Marin Permit, developing an in-depth understanding of the hydrocarbon geology as evidenced by our 89 per cent E&A drilling success rate in the regionally prolific pre-salt Gamba formation.”

In October, BW Energy brought online the DHIBM-7H production well within the Dussafu license following a drilling campaign that started in August. Borr Drilling’s Norve jack-up rig was used for the job.

While disclosing an oil discovery with good reservoir quality in the DHIBM-7P pilot well in May, BW Energy explained that the well was drilled to appraise the northern flank of the Hibiscus field, which is part of its Hibiscus/Ruche development project, located about 20 kilometers northwest of the Tortue field. The discovery was confirmed to be substantial in June.

“Most of the Niosi Marin and Guduma Marin acreage is within tie-back distance to existing infrastructure, enabling fast-track, low-cost development of future discoveries. We have proven our ability to create significant value in the Dussafu licence, where we are close to completing the first phase of Hibiscus / Ruche to bring production to nameplate capacity of 40,000 barrels per day. These licence awards further underpin BW Energy’s commitment to Gabon and clear ambition of growing production and cash flow generation,” noted Carl K. Arnet, BW Energy’s CEO. 

The Niosi block is also adjacent to the Etame license in which Vaalco holds a 58.8% operating interest, while its partners are Addax Petroleum and PetroEnergy. Dussafu and Etame are said to contain an estimated combined volume of over 300 million barrels discovered to date, multiple fields put into production, and processing and export infrastructure installed. Both continue to be explored and developed by the respective partners.

The floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel working at the Etame field 2002–2022, FPSO Petróleo Nautipa, was demobilized and sent to India for recycling earlier this year. A floating storage and offloading (FSO) unit by World Carrier Offshore Services was scheduled for deployment on the field to replace the FPSO in the third quarter of 2022.