Norwegian firm Statoil joins the search for oil in Kenya
Oil Rigs. Norwegian energy exploration firm Statoil has become the latest entrant in the Kenya oil search that has so far attracted more than 24 players, an investment bank reported.
Norwegian energy exploration firm Statoil has become the latest entrant in the Kenya oil search that has so far attracted more than 24 players, an investment bank reported.
US firm Morgan Stanley said Kenya is in advanced talks that will see Statoil take up the unlicensed block L26 in the deep offshore.
The Business Daily could not independently verify the report.
The energy firm with operations in six African including Egypt, Algeria, Tanzania, Ghana, Angola and Libya, recently struck a rich vein in East Africa after securing large deposits of gas in Tanzania.
Statoil has a presence in more than 30 countries with a total revenue of Sh10 trillion ($119 billion).
Tullow Oil and Africa Oil’s outstanding success at the Ngamia exploration well has dramatically heightened investor interest in Kenya.
“The last unlicensed offshore block, L26 is to be licensed to Statoil (UW) soon,” said investment bank Morgan Stanley in its latest oil and gas research on Kenya.
Licensing of the deep water offshore blocks at the Kenya coast has also been enhanced by discoveries along the coastlines of Tanzania and Mozambique.
Other new entrants include Total and ENI with interests in blocks L21-25.
“We would expect additional new blocks to be put up for licensing in early 2013,” said the US bank.
Kenya plans to gazette and auction off new blocks for oil and gas exploration.
The Ministry of Energy said UK explorer Tullow Oil and Anadarko Petroleum would surrender acreage in a total of seven blocks in the coming weeks as required in their production-sharing contracts with the government.
“With Tullow and Anadarko set to surrender 25 per cent of their acreage shortly, there is expected to be more new blocks set up for exploration,” said the Morgan Stanley.
Tullow Oil could give up a quarter of its territory in block 10BB, where it made its March oil discovery, as well as a quarter of block 13T. Both are onshore.
Anadarko will surrender 25 per cent of each of its five offshore blocks.
As part of production-sharing contracts, explorers must surrender a quarter of their unused blocks after two years if the block is onshore or three years if it is offshore.
With a rapidly accelerating drilling programme after Ngamia success, partners Tullow and Africa Oil expect to start drilling at Twiga-1 shortly.
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