Reacting to news that Nigeria’s oil industry regulator is prepared to offer a fast-track sales approvals process for oil companies wanting to sell their businesses in the country, Isa Sanusi, Amnesty International Nigeria Director, said:

“With Shell currently seeking regulatory approval for the sale of its business in the Niger Delta, it is essential that it is held fully to account for decades of grievous human rights abuses related to oil spills which have polluted the environment, contaminated drinking water and poisoned agricultural land, fisheries and people.

“An offer made by Nigeria’s industry regulator to fast-track approvals of sales by oil companies which accept responsibility for pollution must not be an easy option that allows Shell to cut and run from the suffering related to its operations in the Niger Delta, or which exposes local communities to more human rights harms.

“We are concerned the proposed fast-track option potentially gives large oil companies the upper hand in negotiations around sales approvals and will exclude affected local communities from the decision-making process. It is also essential that any approval is contingent on the buyers having the operational expertise and financial stability to manage the operations acquired safely and effectively to ensure local communities are not exposed to enduring harms.

“Amnesty International continues to recommend that any sales approval process related to Shell’s business in Nigeria must be full and thorough and involve safeguards to protect human rights, including an environmental study to assess clean-up requirements, an inventory of the physical assets being sold, and an evaluation to ensure sufficient funds are set aside for potential decommissioning of oil infrastructure.

“Shell’s sale must not be allowed to add to the fossil fuel industry’s long and woeful record of pollution by leaving more harm in its wake. Amnesty International is campaigning for a fast phase out of fossil fuels and a fair transition to renewables.”

Background

Shell announced in January that it had agreed to sell the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) to the Renaissance consortium, which comprises four exploration and production companies based in Nigeria and an international energy group, in a deal worth up to US$2.4 billion, financed partly with a loan to the buyers from Shell. The head of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission outlined the fast-track approvals option at a meeting with representatives of major oil companies, including Shell and Exxon Mobil, in Abuja last week.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Amnesty International.

Independent E&P company Panoro Energy made a discovery at the DHBSM-2P pilot well on the south extension of the Hibiscus South field in Gabon’s Dussafu Marin Permit. Gross recoverable reserves are shown to be between five and six million barrels of oil and approximately 14 million barrels of oil in place. Panoro expects to complete the well towards the end of 2024.

“Last week, we announced the extension of barrels at one of the fields at the Hibiscus extension. These are profitable barrels because there is infrastructure all around the area,” stated Tim O’Hanlon, Senior Advisor, Panoro Energy at the Invest in African Energy (IAE) conference in Paris.

The discovery augments the sizeable potential of Gabon’s offshore oil reserves at a time when oil and gas projects are progressing rapidly across the country. During the second annual IAE Forum in Paris this week, a panel discussion – sponsored by the country’s Ministry of Petroleum and the Gabon Oil Company – unpacked Gabon’s hydrocarbon potential, with speakers drawing attention to ongoing project developments and available investment opportunities.

“There is a big shift from oil to gas and we are looking at gas as our next focus. Gabon is very economically stable and this has been proven throughout the years. We have adjusted many aspects of our law. We welcome you to invest in Gabon,” said Fernand Epigat, Deputy General Manager, Directorate General of Hydrocarbons.

With over 2 billion barrels of oil reserves and 1.2 trillion cubic feet of gas, Gabon is a strategic investment opportunity for foreign companies. O’Hanlon explained that, “Most of the reserves that we know about in Gabon reside in statistically small pools. There are challenges particular to Gabon – the onshore is forested so seismic acquisition is challenging – but that introduces some pleasant surprises. It is a country where reserves tend to get bigger.”

Given this potential, various large-scale projects are already underway. Christophe Blanc, Lead Gas Commercial Manager at Perenco, announced that the company will start construction at a planned LNG production unit in the coming weeks. Set to be located at the Cap Lopez oil terminal, the LNG production unit will produce 700,000 tons of LNG and aims to come online by 2026. In addition to LNG, the project will add 25,000 tons of LPG to the country’s energy mix.

According to Blanc, the project “is a unique concept, where we have a liquefaction barge that will be built and all modules sent to the FSU which will be moored alongside the FLNG. We will load the LNG and export it worldwide. It will unlock a new source of revenue for Gabon and will create a lot of jobs.”

These developments highlight the growing potential for gas-related investments in Gabon. According to EPIGAT, the government is committed to supporting project developers. “We are investing – alongside our partners – in infrastructure to help Gabon become a global gas player. We are putting more emphasis on building infrastructure,” he said.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital&Power.

Strategies for successful project implementation – including competitive fiscals and project preparation facilities – were discussed at the Invest in African Energy (IAE) forum on Tuesday. The IAE forum is organized by Energy Capital&Power (www.EnergyCapitalPower.com).

A project-focused panel at the Invest in African Energy forum explored strategies for successful project implementation – from FID to start-up – as Africa seeks to develop traditional fossil fuel resources alongside next-generation solutions.

Amid shifting investor priorities, the panel addressed how Africa can fast-track the development of its energy system and maximize energy resiliency through strong fiscal terms and low costs of extraction and production, along with a reduced carbon footprint.

“We are living through an energy transition period. It’s not only the cost of production that matters – it’s also your carbon intensity,” said Dr. Carole Nakhle, CEO of Crystol Energy and President of Access for Women in Energy. 

“We are still battling with energy access, hence the need to categorize the shade of green of the energy transition. It’s a spectrum. As a bank with a strong African footprint, my perspective is energy access,” said Reginald Max, Senior Advisor, Infrastructure and Public Private Partnerships in Lending Operations, Trade and Development Bank.

Aimed at raising the attractiveness of projects on the continent, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) launched a project preparation facility to increase the availability of bankable projects in Africa and provide technical and financial support to companies, from conceptual to execution stages. The facility has a cap of $2 million per project.

“This fund is very flexible. It can be used for capacity building, for pre-feasibility studies, for advisory and legal fees – these are the real costs that project developers face,” said Helen Aigbe Brume, Director of Project and Asset Based Finance for Afreximbank. “We have created a joint project preparation facility where we collaborate and pool our funds together – we have done it with nine institutions on the continent to date.”

The legal and regulatory framework also plays a key role in attracting and de-risking investment in Africa’s energy sector, as well as enabling project developers to compete effectively for private capital.

“The contractual framework is currently sound enough where the traditional mechanisms that are being used, including stabilization, ensure that whether the regime changes or not, you still have the same contracts enforced,” said Zion Adeoye, CEO of pan-African law and advisory firm CLG. “Beyond that, the most enduring is having solid institutions to superintend the development of projects, especially in key sectors, so that changes in the political space do not generally affect the development of projects.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital&Power.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has learned with sadness of the passing of Mrs Nomgcibelo Jocelyn Motsuenyane following her loss of her husband of 70 years, Dr Sam Motsuenyane.

The President offers his deep condolences to the Motsuenyane family as they prepare for Ma Motsuenyane’s funeral tomorrow, 15 May 2024.

The President said: “As South Africans, we stand by the Motsuenyanes in your moment of compounded loss.

“Sam and Jocelyn Motsuenyane are icons of their generation whose belief in education and entrepreneurship as keys to self-realisation and reliance sustained communities and contributed to the inclusive economy we continue to build today.

“May they rest together in peace at the end of a life of service and upliftment and a union they shared for 70 years.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Presidency of the Republic of South Africa.