Kosmos Picks up Operatorship Over Two Sao Tome and Principe Blocks
Nigeria’s Oando Energy Resources has teamed up with Kosmos Energy in acquiring offshore blocks in Sao Tome and Principe, and African island nation located near the equator.
Oando’s subsidiary Equator Exploration had acquired ownership over the Blocks 5 and 12, respectively, and eventually farmed out the majority ownership in both blocks to Kosmos Energy.
Kosmos is now the operator of the Block 5 with a 65 percent stake, with Equator Exploration and National Petroleum Agency of STP (“ANP-STP”) owning, 20 percent and 15 percent respectively.
Similarly to the Block 5, Kosmos now operates the Block 12, also with a 65 percent ownership, with Equator Exploration and ANP-STP holding 22.5 percent and 12.5 percent respectively.
Below is a description of the two blocks, as provided by Oando Energy:
“Block 5 has an area of 2,844km2 in water depths ranging from 2,000m to 2,500m. It was ranked highest in the EEZ by Equator with regard to hydrocarbon potential based on water depth, proximity to both the Equatorial Guinea shelf and the ancient Ogouee delta, and the presence of structural development related to basement faulting in the Cretaceous where oil has been found in Equatorial Guinea.
Block 12 has an area of 7,940km2 in water depths ranging from 2,500m to 3,000m. The block is situated within Zone B of the government block classification scheme, and within this group has been ranked the most attractive by Equator due to its proximity to the North Gabon salt basin and the presence of structural prospects located both on the footwall of the Ascension Fault and similar sub-parallel trends.”
Pade Durotoye, CEO OER said: “Building on our long term relationship with ANP-STP and the government and people of STP, we are delighted to be partnering with Kosmos, who are renowned for their exploration efficiency, and track record of finding large oil and gas resources at better than average industry success rates. Our intention is to keep growing our business, and this farmout transaction will bolster the achievement of our organic growth quota. We are committed to creating value by focused exploration and development of key assets regionally. The partnership with Kosmos enables us to focus our resources on high potential opportunities, whilst at the same time maximizing profitable production of our Nigerian assets.”
Kosmos, according to the info on its website, has been using the industry down-cycle to build up its exploration portfolio. This is not the company’s first acquisition in Sao Tome and Principe.
In October 2015, Kosmos bought an 85% participating interest and operatorship in Block 11 offshore Sao Tome and Principe. The national petroleum agency, Agencia Nacional Do Petroleo De Sao Tome E Principe (“ANP”), has a 15% carried interest.
A month later, in November 2015, the company closed a farm-in agreement with Galp Energia Sao Tome E Principe, Unipessoal, LDA (“Galp”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Petrogal, S.A. to acquire a 45% non-operated participating interest in Block 6 offshore Sao Tome and Principe.
