DAILY TRUST Tuesday, January 25,
18 BUSINESS
2011
Busi ness/l nternationa I
Total to start oil exploration in Sudan by April FRENCH oil giant Total SA is due to start exploration in south Sudan by April once state-owned Qatar Petroleum joins the consortium running the block, Sudan's petroleum ministry said yesterday. Minister Lual Deng, a southerner, said once the south -which has some 75 percent of Sudan's 500,000 barrels per day output -- becomes independent as expected on July 9, US. companies would be welcome to work there. Sudan has been under US. trade and economic sanctions since 1997. Total has not begun work on Block B in the swampy southern Jonglei state despite holding the concession since the 198Os. Sudan. south voted this month on a referendum on secession from the north ending decades ofcivil war and uncertainty around the future of Africa's largest country. Total is the major shareholder in the block. The ministry's head ofexploration Azhari Abdel Gadir said Sudan was seeing heightened investor interest from many small companies, including Canadian Viking Oil & Gas Ltd, hoping
to get a foot into Sudan's oil blocks before major players enter as secession looks to end peacefully without a return to war. "Over the last six months or so we have experienced a rush from several oil companies;'he told reporters. "It's not what you call your major oil companies but we do have over 15 applications, some ofthem from Canada:' Abdel Gadir and Deng in a joint news conference said Total was due to begin exploration by April as it looked likely Qatar Petroleum would take up the empty 20 percent of the consortium running BlockB. "(Total) have suggested Qatar Petroleum International and so that is under consideration but all indications are would be that it will go smoothly -- it's a question of signing~ said minister Deng. Abdel Gadir said the agreement with the Gulf firm should be completed by April. "If things go as expected in April we will start work:' he said. Major firms have largely avoided Sudan because of alIega-
tions of rights abuses duringthelong north-south civil war and US. trade sanctions. But once the south is independent, the embargo will be irrelevant on blocks in the south. Southerner Deng said US. companies will be allowed to invest in the southern oil industry after secession. "We don't discriminate, we allow anybody to invest in Sudan's oil and that will be the attitude of the south should the south secede;' said Deng. Deng said Sudan hoped to reach 1 million bpd. But Sudan has conSistently failed to reach bullish production forecasts offered by officials after a 2005 north-south peace deal looked to stabilise security in Sudan. "In three years we are aiming to have 1 million barrels;' Deng said. Sudan's main oilfields are in decline and Malaysia's Petronas has been working to improve theyield from fields which Abdel Gadirput at an average of23 percent across Sudan. New discoveries have also been slow to come on line. (Reuters)
Africa Oil says now operator of Kenyan Block 9 AFRICA Oil Corp. has taken over as operator of Kenya's Block 9 after China's CNOOC and Taiwan's CI?C pulled. out of the venture as planned, the Vancouver-based
company said yesterday. Africa Oil said it now held a 66.7 percent working interest in the block in east Africa's largest economy with Lion Energy Corp. holding the remaining 33.3 percent.
CNOOC said last October it was pulling out of its two Kenyan licences but wanted stakes in five other
blocks. A 5,085 metre well in Block 9 discovered a potentially large gas accumulation but it was spudded last year and a Kenyan: government official said there was a
feeling CNOOC did not do a good job with the Bhogal 1 well. Africa Oil said it would be relinquishing 25 percent of the original area to start an additional exploration phase in Block 9, which includes a commitment to drill one well t<> a depth of at least 1,500 metres. Africa Oil also said it was considering an additional testing programme on Bhogal 1 to assess the production potential of the gas reservoirs. "Studies Qn commercialisation of this gas, including
possible gas to power or small scale LNG projects will be conducted in parallel to the possible testing programme," the company said in a statement. It also said existing seismic data for the Kaisut Basin
portion of block 9 were encouraging and it was planning a further seismic survey in 2011. Africa Oil is also exploring in Ethiopia and Somalia. Interest in East Africa, which is much less explored than West Africa, has been rising on the back of Tullow Oil's Ugandan discovery and a gas find by US. firm Anadarko off the coast of Mozambique last February. (Reuters)
Ugandan central bank intervenes in forex ma rket
Cocoa hits l-year high on call for Ivorian export ban COCOA hit a one-year high yesteray after Ivory Coast's presidential claimant Alassane Ouatlara,locked in a standoff against incumbent Laurent Gbagbo, urged a monthlong ban on exports from the world's top producer. Dealers said prices were rising as the international market was thrown into turmoil on uncertainty over what
Oualtara's call meant, given that Gbagbo controls the supply pipeline to ports. .â&#x20AC;˘ Liffe cocoa futures jumped over 7 percent to a 6-month peakof2,269 pounds per tonne. Ivory Coast is locked in a political stalemate after a bitterly contested presidential eleCtion on November 28. Ouattara, the internationally recognised president of Ivory Coast, remains in a hotel guarded by UN. troops
while Gbagbo has appOinted his own administration and remains in power despite pressure to step down. Confusion set in as a European Commission source
dealing wit'h sanctions on Ivory Coast told Reuters the European Union's sanctions on Ivory Coast in t'he wake of the country's contested presidential election did not amount to a ban on cocoa exports.
"The EU is applying targeted sanctions, in part aimed at avoiding negative consequences for the local population, so there is no embargo on trade:' the source said. Dealers said that if exporters respect Ouatlara's call for an export ban, there will be less availability of cocoa on the international market, which could bolster cocoa
prices. (Reuters)
Circle Oil makes 2nd gas find in Morocco in a month
THE Bank of Uganda said yesterday it was intervening in the foreign exchange market by selling hard cur-
OIL and gas explorer Circle Oil
Earlier this month, the explorer
The company started drilling in the
said it made another gas discovery
found gas at the KSR-IO well at the
Sebou Permit, which lies to the north¡east
rency.
in its key Sebou Permit, marking
of Rabat in the Rharb Basin in Morocco, Circle said it was evaluating the in September. Circle Oil shares, which have gained results of the well to estimate the about 17 percent over the past six months, strength of reserves at the site. The explorer plans to drill the were indicated up 3.4 percent at 0746 KSR-ll exploration well, its fifth and GMT on the London Stock Exchange. final well in the campaign, following They closed at 37 pence on Friday. the latest discovery. (Reuters)
The central bank sold $45.3 million last week to bolster the shilling, which had fallen to an all-time low of 2,395/2,400 per dollar. "The central bank has come into the market again today;' said Lucas Ochieng of Orient Bank. "I think they'll be happy if the shilling appreciates to below the 2,300 level." (Reuters)
its second successive discovery in
Morocco this month. The company, which has assets in Morocco, Namibia, Oman, Egypt and Tunisia, said it fo~d gas in the
deeper Main Hoot and the secondary Guebbas regions of the reservoir.
Sebou permit in Morocco.
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