E&P

Partners will reprocess 3D seismic data in PEL87.

Operator of Petroleum Exploration License 87 (PEL 87) offshore Namibia, Pancontinental Energy Limited, has received approval from the Namibian Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy (MIME) on license extension by 12 months to 22 January 2027

During the extension period, the PEL 87 joint venture partners will undertake an environmental impact assessment (EIA), reprocess 3D seismic data and seismic interpretation, and drill an exploration well. 

Work is underway on the EIA since 2025 while a subset of PEL 87 3D is being reprocessed. Governing blocks 2713A and 2713B in the Orange Basin, seismic signal quality in the license, especially in targeted areas, will see marked improvement following reprocessing work.

Robert Bose, chief executive officer of Sintana Energy, said, "We are grateful to the Minister for the extension of PEL 87. We look forward to the continued refinement of the existing seismic work in anticipation of securing a farm in partner to progress the project to a focused drilling programme." 

Sintana has a 7.4% indirect carried interest in PEL 87.

The NGC project is driven by gas produced offshore Quiluma field. (Image source: bp)

bp and Eni venture, Azule Energy, has announced start-up of gas production from the Quiluma field, part of the New Gas Consortium (NGC) in Angola, which is initially expected to reach 150 mn standard cu/ft per day and ramp up to 330 mn standard cu/ft per day by the year end

A first for Angola's non-associated gas development, the NGC project is driven by gas produced from the shallow water offshore Quiluma field. This gas is directed for export from the Angola LNG plant following treatment at an onshore processing facility.

Azule Energy is operator of the NGC, with a 37.4% participation, in partnership with Cabinda Gulf Oil Company (CABGOC) with 31%, Sonangol E&P with 19.8% and TotalEnergies with 11.8% and ANPG as the National Concessionaire.

Gordon Birrell, bp’s executive vice president for production and operations, and Azule board member, said, "The safe delivery of the NGC project is another example of bp’s strategic progress and demonstrates what strong partnerships and collaboration can deliver. This project marks an important step for Angola’s energy system and strengthens the country’s energy mix as it looks to enhance its position as a global player in the natural gas market.” 

This development comes following the inauguration the project’s gas treatment plant in November 2025. The NGC start-up is the latest in a series of upstream advancements such as the Agogo field at the Agogo Integrated West Hub (Agogo IWH) project, in block 15/06, offshore Angola, and the Ndungu start-up in February 2026.

The ultra-deepwater drillship, Sonangol Quenguela, will continue to operate in Angola.

Seadrill's joint venture with Sonangol-affiliate, Sonadrill Holding, has been awarded a contract extension

The ultra-deepwater drillship, Sonangol Quenguela, will continue to operate in Angola for an additional 480 days now that its seven-well priced option has already been exercised. The extension secures availability of the rig till June 2028. 

Seadrill earns a management fee for providing management, operational and technical support to Sonadrill. 

Sonangol is conducting well tests on the TO-14 well in Block KON-11 while engineering work continues too. Well clean-up operations using nitrogen resulted in significant water production with oil shows and nominal oil saturation levels. 

Sonangol has recently received financial backing from African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), covering the national oil company's projected operating and capital expenditure with a US$1.75bn syndicated receivables purchase facility. It has been designed with Sonangol's export-linked trade structures in mind, aligning with Afreximbank’s push for Africa’s prominence in global trade by promoting demand-intensive commodities for export. This strategic financing will support Sonangol in unlocking better access into the export market, which can prove to be a goldmine for the region given global oil supply volatilities. 

Both of the Magoga wells drilled the full reservoir interval. (Image source: Assala)

Assala Energy has found hydrocarbons in the targeted reservoir interval in the Magoga-1 exploration well

The well is located in the Mutamba Iroru II Licence in Gabon, which also comes with a sidetrack into the Atora II Licence.

Going by the initial data acquired during drilling the presence of 8 meters of hydrocarbon has been identified within the Gamba Sandstone formation. This will be followed by integration and interpretation of the well to assess reservoir properties, fluid characteristics and volumetric potential. These will determine the company's next steps, while deciding if there's any requirement for any additional appraisal activity.

“This result provides encouraging subsurface information from the Mutamba Iroru II & Atora Licence and adds to our understanding of the basin’s prospectivity,” said Timothee de Reynal, subsurface director at Assala Energy. “Our immediate focus is on completing a thorough technical evaluation of the data gathered from the well and determining the appropriate forward work programme.”

Both of the Magoga wells drilled the full reservoir interval and safely completed operations in line with applicable operational, environmental and safety standards.

The discovery will be subject to further technical analysis and, where appropriate, additional studies or appraisal activity. No determination has yet been made regarding commerciality, and no decision has been taken regarding development.

Assala Energy will continue to work closely with the relevant authorities, its stakeholders and shareholders, as it progresses the evaluation of the well results.