Africa-focused British independent oil and gas company Savannah Petroleum PLC’s subsidiary Savannah Niger has signed a MoU agreement with the Republic of Niger, to support the proposed early production scheme (EPS) and facilitate oil and gas infrastructure in the region
The EPS aims to utilise crude oil resources associated with Savannah’s recent discoveries in the R3 portion of the R3/R4 Production Sharing Contract area in the Agadem Rift Basin (ARB) of South East Niger.
Under the terms of the agreement, both parties will work together towards the realisation of the EPS. The agreement further contains specific provisions relating to the actions each party undertakes to conduct as well as setting out crucial timelines associated with the project.
The EPS is intended to be domestic-focused, with oil produced from Savannah Niger’s R3 area discoveries expected to be sold at the Société de Raffinage de Zinder (SORAZ) refinery, which is connected to the ARB via the third party owned 463km Agadem-Zinder crude oil transportation pipeline.
The Republic of Niger has confirmed its intention to
· Facilitate the conclusion of a crude oil marketing agreement between Savannah Niger and SORAZ
· Facilitate the conclusion of an infrastructure access agreement between Savannah Niger and the owner of third-party crude oil processing and transportation infrastructure
Savannah has undertaken to
· Submit a pre-feasibility study to the Republic of Niger within 90 days of the signature of the MoU in relation to the discovered crude oil resources in the R3 area anticipated to be included in the EPS
· Submit an application to the Republic of Niger for the issuance of an exclusive exploitation authorisation within 90 days of finalisation of commercial documentation between Savannah Niger, SORAZ and the third-party infrastructure owner
Commenting on the collaboration, Foumakoye Gado, minister of energy and petroleum of Niger, said, “As a Government, we are keen to see that these and future discoveries commence production as soon as possible, given the positive contribution to economic growth, tax revenues and our local communities that they have the potential to deliver.”
“We continue to hope that Savannah’s experiences will serve as a positive advertisement for our government’s pro-FDI approach and would strongly encourage others to come and invest in Niger, both in oil and gas and other sectors,” Gado further added.
