The latest appointments are in line with company strategy, as the group expands its operational footprint in the African E&P sector. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Africa-focused oil & gas production, development and exploration group, Tende Energy, has undergone a management reshuffle with the appointment of Mark Henderson as the chief executive officer of Tende Energy North Africa 

Henderson has been associated with Tende Energy since 18 December 2017, when he was working as a chief financial officer in the company. 

He will be stepping down from the board to focus on the company’s North African operations, where he has been leading a Tunisian team to build its onshore activities. Over the last six months, he and his team are also working to tap into the potential of offshore operations in the region. Tende Energy has set an example in the Tunisian upstream by introducing an exclusively Tunisian crew and support team. 

Besides concentrating on the assets in Tunisia that were acquired last year, Henderson will continue to work on the Anglo Tunisian Oil and Gas business as well. 

His previous position as the chief financial officer will be taken over by John McMurtrie, who brings in more than 20 years of experience in the E&P sector.

Previously, as a CFO with the UK-based Cornerstone Resources Group, McMurtrie worked on the execution of the Petrogas farm-in to the Abbey development and Baker exploration prospects in the Southern North Sea.

Advancing asset transactions in Angola

Jack Pryde, chairman, Tende Energy, said, “The latest appointments are in line with our strategy, as the group expands its operational footprint in the African E&P sector. Mark and his team will continue to achieve further critical mass with the group’s onshore and offshore assets in Tunisia, building on the achievements since taking control in Summer 2023. John brings additional sector experience to our management team, having worked at senior financial management level in the listed E&P sector for the last decade. He is experienced in asset and company farm-in/out transactions. This will come to the fore as we get closer to completing our asset transactions in Angola and move onto the listing of the company’s shares on the London stock market.”

Ahmed El-Hoshy, CEO of Fertiglobe. (Image source: Fertiglobe)

Fertiglobe, the seaborne exporter of urea and ammonia, and nitrogen fertiliser producer from the Middle East and North Africa region, reported Q1 2024 revenue of US$552mn, adjusted EBITDA of US$223mn, and adjusted net profit of US$119mn

In Q1 2024, ammonia prices retreated from their levels in Q4 2024 on easing supply disruptions and lower gas prices compared to the previous quarter, while urea prices were impacted by mixed trends due to favourable weather incentivising demand in North America coinciding with delayed planting in Europe, as well as lower-than-expected tender uptake in India, partially offset by healthy demand in other key regions including Brazil and Australia.

Ahmed El-Hoshy, CEO of Fertiglobe, commented, “We are pleased to report a strong quarter, marked by a 5% year-on-year increase in our own-produced sales volumes, driven by higher production and lower ending inventories, which led to a 22% and 1% increase in ammonia and urea own-produced sales volumes, respectively. This demonstrates continued efforts by our manufacturing and commercial teams to prioritise our key strategic objectives, paving the way for further operational milestones over the course of the year, by capitalising on our robust in-house capabilities and logistics footprint. It is worth noting that these results were delivered in an environment of market volatility and softer prices in Q1, on lower crop and energy prices as well as reduced imports from India and Europe, coupled with an improved supply situation with recent curtailments being reversed.

"Fertiglobe has continued to make good progress on its cost optimisation programme, having achieved 60% of its US$50mn run rate target implemented by the end of March 2024, and remains on track to realise the full target by the end of 2024. In addition, there is potential to generate at least US$100mn in incremental annual EBITDA by the end of 2025 compared to 2023, driven by improved production and energy efficiency within its ongoing manufacturing improvement plan (MIP). Together, these two initiatives have potential to generate US$150mn of incremental EBITDA by the end of 2025, representing an approximately 15% increase compared to 2023.

"These initiatives bolster Fertiglobe's cash flow generation across cycles, supporting the company’s already healthy free cash flow conversion and robust balance sheet, and enabling Fertiglobe to balance growth spending on value accretive projects and dividend payments.

"In addition, Fertiglobe remains firmly focused on technology, innovation and digitalisation, and is investing in the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) throughout its operations to unlock value, enhance efficiencies, and reduce emissions. The company is harnessing data integration and predictive analytics applications to support business objectives by improving the performance of equipment, processes, and facilities, while also implementing AI-powered analytics at its sites to enhance safety and reliability.

“I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to our exceptional team, whose dedication has been instrumental in our achievements. Their unwavering commitment to safety and excellence has been pivotal in our transformation into a leading global enterprise, which is about to embark on an exciting new chapter of growth and value creation following ADNOC’s acquisition of OCI's 50% equity stake, which will take ADNOC's ownership to a majority 86.2%. Together, we have immense confidence in Fertiglobe's ability to continue passing milestones and setting new standards for our industry.”

The Borr Norve jack-up rig was utilised to drill a target area located approximately 3.2 kms west-northwest of the MaBoMo. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

BW Energy has confirmed increase in reserve estimates following the presence of good quality reservoir in DHBSM-2P pilot well in the northern end of the Hibiscus South deposit

Drilled from the MaBoMo production platform to a total depth of 5,130 m, BW aims to acheive well completion of DHBSM-2P by the end of 2024.

The Borr Norve jack-up rig was utilised to drill a target area located approximately 3.2 kms west-northwest of the MaBoMo.

Evaluation of logging data, sample examination and formation pressure measurements confirm approximately 25 metres of pay in an overall hydrocarbon column of 35 metres in the Gamba formation.

The well data provides additional confirmation that the Hibiscus South structure is a separate accumulation with a deeper oil-water contact than the nearby Hibiscus Field. This will enable the company to book additional reserves not currently included in its annual statement of reserves and provide the opportunity to drill one or more additional production wells from the MaBoMo facility.

“We continue to increase the production and reserve base through low-cost and low-risk development activity in line with BW Energy’s strategy,” said Carl K. Arnet CEO of BW Energy. “The Hibiscus South pilot well is another confirmation of the significant potential of the Dussafu licence which holds multiple additional prospects.”

Preliminary evaluation indicates gross recoverable reserves of 5 to 6 million barrels of oil and approximately 14 million barrels of oil in place.

Coral South FLNG is Mozambique’s first operating LNG project, and the first deep-water FLNG project for Africa. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Air Products, a provider of liquefied natural gas (LNG) technology and equipment has announced its dual mixed refrigerant LNG Process technology (AP-DMR) and equipment, which has been deployed at the Coral South floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) plant in Mozambique, Africa, has successfully passed its performance test achieving LNG production above 3.4 mn tons per year.

Air Products’ proprietary AP-DMR LNG Process was selected because of its high efficiency, reliable operation, and compact footprint. AP-DMR’s superior process efficiency combined with the use of aeroderivative machinery translates to a lower carbon intensity than all other LNG processes in floating service.
Coral South FLNG is Mozambique’s first operating LNG project, and the first deep-water FLNG project for Africa. It is the second largest FLNG facility in the world. Air Products’ involvement with this project started in 2013 with conceptual work, resulting in the selection of the AP-DMR LNG process technology and equipment, including the supply of two proprietary coil-wound main cryogenic heat exchangers (CWHEs), one for precooling and one for liquefaction within the facility.

The CWHEs for the Coral South project were fabricated at Air Products’ LNG equipment manufacturing facility in Port Manatee, Florida. Additionally, Air Products provided expert, technical advisory services for the installation, commissioning, start-up, and performance testing.

“Having been selected to participate in this landmark project is a significant achievement and the first project to leverage our very efficient AP-DMR LNG process. Our supplied equipment having successfully completed performance testing is the direct result of the expertise and experience of our team, from all areas of the LNG business, working in close collaboration and in support of TP JGC Coral France (the EPC joint venture of Technip Energies France SAS and JGC Corporation) executing the project and Coral FLNG S.A. (the owner/operator),” said Dr. John Palamara, general manager – LNG at Air Products.

Air Products’ AP-DMR LNG Process has also been selected for the Energía Costa Azul LNG land-based project in Mexico which is currently under construction.