By Chibisi Ohakah, Abuja
The government of Equatorial Guinea has said that agreement with Chevron CVX for offshore block EG09 in the Douala Basin, near the Cameroon border, reinforces the country’s exploration potential and the role that hydrocarbons will play in boosting economic growth.
Despite its tiny size, Equatorial Guinea has some of Africa’s greatest oil and gas deposits, with gas reserves believed to be 1.5 trillion cubic feet and oil reserves estimated to be 1.1 billion barrels.
In recent years, the government of Equatorial Guinea enforced a number of regulatory frameworks to open up its economy and attract investment and accelerate growth to establish the country as a Gas Mega Hub.
Furthermore, the report said CVX will be run with an 80% stake, the rest being held by GEPetrol, the state-owned oil company. Also Chevron will implement a work program in collaboration with the government that will pave the way for Block EG09 development.
Also Block EG09, which was previously explored by South Africa’s PetroSA, has the potential to possess significant oil and gas deposits, considering its closeness to other blocks where large-scale discoveries were made.
Equatorial Guinea minister for mining and hydrocarbons, Gabriel Mbega Obiang Lima, said in line with the deal, Chevron would successfully provide hydrocarbons that will further establish EG as a top African producer with the correct exploration strategy and technology.
CVX joined the country’s EG market late last year with the purchase of Noble Energy and has since begun operations via the Alen gas pipeline, which transports output from the offshore Alen field to onshore processing plants.
In April 2019, Noble Energy, currently owned by Chevron, had approved the development of the Alen natural gas project. The Alen field is located at Block O (95%) and Block I (5%), offshore EG and includes a 70-kilometer long pipeline that can carry up to 950 million cubic feet of natural gas equivalent per day (MMcfe/d) from the Alen field, located in the Douala Basin.
“The Alen gas project is a major effort toward the country’s planned EG gas mega-hub. The hub aims to use the existing infrastructure and develop a flourishing gas industry in EG, which will facilitate the processing of discovered resources in the country,” the minister said.
San Ramon, CA-based Chevron currently produces oil from its Aseng well in Block I and gas condensate from its Alen field in Block O. Offshore block EG09 lies to the south of Block I.
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