Chair of the ICC to be appointed, page-18

Cheers Rolla. I just opted the 14 day free trial - think I used my 5 freebies a long time ago.

Anyway, here it is everyone. Enjoy.

gh.

Pair line up fresh wildcat
Iain Esau

9 Mar 2018 00:00 GMT
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Stockholm-based Svenska Petroleum and its Australian partner Far Ltd are preparing plans to drill a wildcat off Guinea-Bissau next year, write Barry Morgan and Iain Esau.

After securing fresh licence terms last year and clarifying their working interests in two licences, the partners are “looking to drill most likely in 2019”, said Ben Clube, Far’s chief operating officer.

Speaking at the AAPG’s Appex Global event, he said the 470-million-barrel Atum prospect in the Block 2 Sinapa licence is their preferred target and is a shelf-edge prospect similar to Cairn Energy’s SNE discovery in Senegal.

Located in the Mauritania-Senegambia-Guinea-Bissau-Conakry (MSGBC) basin — a global exploration hotspot — Atum is mapped as extending into the partners’ Esperanca licence, which takes in blocks 4A and 5A.

However, the two companies are looking to farm down their interests before drilling the Atum probe.

Svenska has a 78.58% interest in the acreage with Far on 21.42%. Guinea-Bissau state-owned Petroguin will secure a 10% interest following a commercial discovery.

If a discovery is made, fresh interest will be generated in adjacent deeper water Block 4B held by London-based Bissau Exploration and Block 5B held by Dutch player Supernova.

Any well drilled on Atum will benefit from the results of a probe set to spud this September on the 800-million-barrel Samo prospect in neighbouring Gambia.

Far, Petronas and Erin Energy will drill the well in Block A2, chasing another shelf-edge play just five kilometres from SNE.

Rig contract discussions are ongoing while 3D seismic is being reprocessed to optimise a drilling location and an operational team is being assembled.

Meanwhile, UK-based law firm Omnia Strategy LLP — chaired by Cherie Blair, the wife of former prime minister Tony Blair — has been appointed by the Gambian government alongside London law firm Essex Chambers to help fight an arbitration case brought by Oslo-registered African Petroleum that claims title to blocks A1 and A4 off Gambia.

African Petroleum triggered arbitral proceedings in the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes against the government of Gambia, which has repeatedly denied the latter’s title and sought to re-allocate the acreage.

These blocks are thought to be sought after by several companies, including Woodside Energy, Tullow Oil and China National Offshore Oil Corporation.