In The Spotlight
Energy services engineering and technology company, Enteq Technologies, has launched Saber Vertical, an advanced drilling solution designed to enhance efficiency and reduce operational complexity for vertical and top-hole drilling
Saber Vertical extends the existing advantages of Enteq’s directional drilling rotary steerable system (RSS), the Saber Tool, to vertical drilling, offering a low-service requirement and modular design that minimises both equipment needs and overall costs.
In regions such as the Middle East and Africa, vertical wells are often drilled in remote and demanding environments, making traditional methods expensive and logistically complex. Engineered in response to market demand and industry challenges, this innovative solution provides operators with greater accuracy, control and wellbore stability, helping to deliver a lower total cost of ownership than other systems available today.
The modular design enables adaptability to multiple hole sizes, reducing equipment requirements and enhancing operational flexibility. Its optimised wellbore stability improves drilling accuracy and control, ensuring greater precision throughout the process. The solution is also low-risk and can be deployed globally in a variety of environments, making it a practical and scalable option for operators worldwide.
Andrew Law, CEO at Enteq, said, "Saber Vertical is the result of listening to our customers and understanding the unique challenges of the market. It is inevitable that incumbent solutions for these applications are expensive due to the required large tool size, limiting commercially suitable options available to the market. With its compact design and cost-effective nature, Saber Vertical delivers a much-needed alternative, helping operators improve efficiency without compromising on performance."
The Government of Tanzania will be auctioning 26 petroleum exploration blocks through the Petroleum Upstream Regulatory Authority (PURA) to attract investment flow in the country's oil and gas industry, said the director general of PURA, Charles Sangweni, at the 11th East African Petroleum Conference and Exhibition (EAPCE’25) held recently in Dar es Salaam
Sangweni said that, of the 26 blocks, 23 are in the deep offshore of the Indian Ocean and three are in Lake Tanganyika.
“The demarcated blocks are located in strategic areas since the deep offshore is where a significant amount of natural gas was discovered and the case of Lake Tanganyika, the Lake is located in the East African Rift System (EARS) where neighboring countries (Kenya and Uganda) discovered oil in basins located in similar geological setting,” said Sangweni.
PURA used the EAPCE’25 as a platform to continue promoting the upcoming licensing round and investment in petroleum exploration blocks in the country for that is one of its responsibilities.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Limited) and FIRST Exploration & Petroleum Development Company Limited (FIRST E&P) joint venture have announced a hydrocarbon discovery in the Songhai Field, located in OML 85 in the shallow offshore region of Bayelsa
The well was spudded last November as part of efforts to increase and sustain the JV’s oil production over the next five years. It was successfully drilled to a total depth of 8,883 feet measured depth (MD) in 30 meters of water. The well encountered hydrocarbons across eight reservoirs, logging over 1,000 feet of hydrocarbon-bearing sands, most of which exhibit excellent reservoir properties. Preliminary analysis indicated substantial oil and gas volumes, reinforcing the field’s commercial potential. Further evaluations, including formation testing and well data integration, will be conducted to refine resource estimates and optimise field development plans.
Speaking on the discovery, Segun Owolabi, general manager, Exploration and Development at FIRST E&P, said "This discovery marks a major milestone in our efforts to unlock the full potential of our assets. The success at Songhai Field underscores the effectiveness of our exploration strategy and our commitment to delivering sustainable value to all stakeholders."
The discovery is strategically important for the joint venture in supporting Nigeria’s production growth and cost optimisation targets. Seyi Omotowa, chief upstream investment officer of NUIMS, noted that the success at Songhai Field aligns with NNPC Limited’s broader upstream objectives. "This aligns with NNPC Limited’s mandate to drive production growth and cost optimisation. The success at Songhai Field reflects our commitment to strategic partnerships, advanced technology, and efficient operations to maximise Nigeria’s hydrocarbon potential sustainably," he said. The discovery also highlights the role of strategic collaboration in expanding Nigeria’s hydrocarbon reserves.
NNPC Limited’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Mallam Mele Kyari, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to efficiency and long-term value creation. "This discovery reaffirms the potential of Nigeria’s offshore assets and the importance of collaboration in boosting reserves and production. NNPC Limited remains committed to driving efficiency and long-term value creation for the nation," Kyari said. Currently, the joint venture maintains a steady daily production of approximately 57,000 barrels of oil per day from its OML 83 and 85 assets. The new discovery in Songhai Field is expected to further enhance production and contribute to Nigeria’s energy security.
Furthermore, the NNPC/FIRST E&P JV remains committed to operational excellence, guided by rigorous safety standards, technical expertise, and efficient project execution. With more than 9 million man-hours of LTI-free operations, the JV continues to lead in safe and responsible hydrocarbon development. This milestone strengthens Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, reinforcing the JV’s role in supporting the Federal Government’s goal of increasing national hydrocarbon production and reserves while ensuring sustainable energy growth.
Vitol has entered into an agreement with Eni to acquire interests worth approximately US$1.65bn comprising Eni's significant oil and gas assets in Ivory Coast and the Republic of Congo
This is a diverse portfolio including not only producing assets but also blocks that are currently under exploration, appraisal and development. One of the most valuable assets that Vitol will be investing in is the Baleine project in Ivory Coast, with a 30% participating interest after Eni's 77.25% ownership interest.
It will be acquiring a 25% participating interest in the mega gas initiative in the Republic of Congo known as the Congo LNG project. Eni has a 65% participating interest in the project.
These agreements further solidify Eni and Vitol's already established partnership in the OCTP and Block 4 projects in Ghana.
While this transaction adds to Vitol's long-running upstream presence in West Africa, besides also a portfolio of infrastructure and downstream related investments, it rebalances the portfolio for Eni who is following a dual exploration model. It comes as part of the major's strategy to optimise upstream activities.
Vaalco Energy has also recently reorganised its portfolio in West Africa.
West Africa has also seen enhanced rig activity, with Shelf Drilling and Borr Drilling announcing contracts since late last year.
Norwegian seismic firm TGS has completed reprocessing work on data that it hopes will spur renewed interest in Angola’s forgotten deepwater Block 16
The company has announced that it had finished work on the Block 16 GeoStreamer MC3D seismic dataset in the Lower Congo Basin, in partnership with Agência Nacional de Petróleo, Gás e Biocombustíveis (ANPG).
Exploration in the deepwater Lower Congo Basin has experienced a resurgence in recent years, TGS reported, with numerous significant discoveries being made and rapidly brought on stream.
"This 3,684-sq-km rejuvenation project utilises modern depth processing workflows to deliver enhanced imaging beyond the original data, enabling detailed evaluation of deeper target plays in both post-salt and pre-salt sections,” it said in a statement.
Angola’s Block 16 has remained largely under explored since the early 2010s, however, with the most recent exploration well drilled in 2013. Until recently, publicly-known oil and gas discoveries within Block 16, in the latest dataset, were limited to the Bengo (1994) and Longa (1995) Upper Miocene finds in the northern section.
However, TGS said that a recent re-evaluation of wells in the Lower Congo Basin has identified oil recovery from Upper Miocene reservoirs in the southern part of the survey area. The survey also provides partial coverage of the field, a marginal field development opportunity currently being marketed by ANPG.
Discovered in 2003, Tchihumba contains hydrocarbon-bearing zones within Upper Miocene, Lower Miocene and Oligocene sands, with recoverable volumes estimated at approximately 136mn barrels.
Additionally, the Lumpembe-1 oil discovery on Block 15/06, drilled in 2023 and currently undergoing development studies, falls within the survey’s coverage.
“TGS is very pleased to continue our support of exploration in this region with our high-quality seismic data,” said David Hajovsky, executive vice president multi-client, TGS. “These accumulations, along with the proximity of significant neighbouring discoveries, present strong opportunities for future exploration success.”
Other West African projects TGS has completed recently include an enhancement of its Fusion 3D seismic dataset offshore Sierra Leone, focusing on the Vega prospect.
Recent discoveries in South America have intensified interest in this region, TGS stated late last year, positioning Sierra Leone as a promising new exploration frontier.
“With growing interest from international oil companies and independents, the Fusion 3D data comes at a crucial time.”
TGS also signed an agreement last year to enhance datasets in Mauritania with the Ministère du Pétrole, des Mines et de l’Énergie, strengthening its position as the sole provider of multi-client subsurface data in the country.
Read more offshore Angola news here:
Red Sky Energy signs risk service contract on Angola Block 6-24
Cabgoc's Sanha project achieves first gas offshore Angola
Sequa Petroleum to acquire interests in multiple blocks in Angola
Energy services engineering and technology company, Enteq Technologies, has launched Saber Vertical, an advanced drilling solution designed to enhance efficiency and reduce operational complexity for vertical and top-hole drilling
Saber Vertical extends the existing advantages of Enteq’s directional drilling rotary steerable system (RSS), the Saber Tool, to vertical drilling, offering a low-service requirement and modular design that minimises both equipment needs and overall costs.
In regions such as the Middle East and Africa, vertical wells are often drilled in remote and demanding environments, making traditional methods expensive and logistically complex. Engineered in response to market demand and industry challenges, this innovative solution provides operators with greater accuracy, control and wellbore stability, helping to deliver a lower total cost of ownership than other systems available today.
The modular design enables adaptability to multiple hole sizes, reducing equipment requirements and enhancing operational flexibility. Its optimised wellbore stability improves drilling accuracy and control, ensuring greater precision throughout the process. The solution is also low-risk and can be deployed globally in a variety of environments, making it a practical and scalable option for operators worldwide.
Andrew Law, CEO at Enteq, said, "Saber Vertical is the result of listening to our customers and understanding the unique challenges of the market. It is inevitable that incumbent solutions for these applications are expensive due to the required large tool size, limiting commercially suitable options available to the market. With its compact design and cost-effective nature, Saber Vertical delivers a much-needed alternative, helping operators improve efficiency without compromising on performance."

The financing will support the engineering, procurement and construction of the Afungi Peninsula-based project. (Image source: Adobe Stock)
An integrated liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in northern Mozambique has finally received a long overdue funding from the newly constituted board of directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM), which approved a direct loan of up to US$4.7bn that will cover export costs of US goods and services for the facility's development and construction
“I am pleased that in authorising this amendment the Bank finally fulfills the commitment EXIM made nearly six years ago to this Mozambique LNG project,” said the Bank's acting president and chairman Jim Cruse.
In a larger scale, the financing will support the engineering, procurement, and construction of the Afungi Peninsula-based project that comprises an onshore LNG plant, related facilities, and offshore activities.
The Rovuma LNG Phase 1 project, which also belongs offshore Afungi Peninsula, is another prospective zone with natural gas liquefaction and export potential. Houston-based energy engineering company, McDermott International, has been handling the front-end engineering design (FEED) operations of the project.
“LNG helps shape an entirely new era of energy solutions and McDermott plays a significant role in this global shift with more than 60 years of LNG experience,” said Rob Shaul, senior vice-president of McDermott's Low Carbon Solutions business. “McDermott is well established in Mozambique and can apply this knowledge and experience to continue the country's industrial, social and economic development.”
The Mozambique LNG project remains a vital investment for the US as it aims to diversify its international portfolio.
Mozambique's LNG evolution has also warranted the rise of LNG technology companies in the region, such as Air Products. The company's dual mixed refrigerant LNG Process technology (AP-DMR) and equipment has been deployed at the Coral South floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) plant, ensuring LNG production above 3.4 mn tons per year.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd has restreamed the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC), commencing crude oil processing from the plant for the delivery of petroleum products into the market
The NNPC group chief executive officer, Mele Kyari, announced the development, expressing his gratitude to all stakeholders involved, and marked the occasion as an era of energy independence and economic growth for the country.
Products delivered included premium motor spirit (PMS), automotive gas oil (AGO) and household kerosene (HHK), among others.
The PHRC rehabilitation project, is an engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) project that is aimed at restoring the refinery to full functionality and renewal.
The East Africa Energy Cooperation Summit (EA-ECS), taking place 29-30 January in Arusha, Tanzania, will be uniting the region's energy independent poiwer producers (IPPs) and engineering, procurement, construction and financing contract (EPCF) stakeholders to discuss the region's investment potential and innovations taking place in the industry
The event will delve into the success stories, including the Ethiopia-Kenya electricity highway, highlighting the role of cross-border collaboration for economic and social development.
Led by Ministers from across the EAC and large-scale energy users, over two days, the Arusha Summit will deep dive into opportunities for the private sector, advocating for a diversified energy mix to maintain grid stability to support major industrial growth, as well as C&I generation.
“Energy is a pillar for development and growth and is crucial for the functioning of the economies of the EAC Partner States. The East Africa Energy Cooperation Summit will serve as the ideal platform for advancing projects and bringing tangible changes in the industry,” said Andrea Malueth, deputy secretary general (Infrastructure, Productive, Social & Political Sectors), East African Community Secretariat.
“Ten years from now, the EAC’s middle classes will have more job stability, more opportunities, and more disposable income than ever before. New railways, industries, ports, and tourism will position the region as the number one investment destination globally, taking the title back from both parts of Asia and Latin America,” said Elisa Palmioli, producer, EnergyNet, which is organising the event.