State-owned Qatar Petroleum has entered into a farm-in agreement with Angola’s national oil company Sonangol and French oil major Total to acquire a 30 per cent stake in Block 48 located in Angolan ultra-deep waters.
The block, with a drill-ready opportunity, covers an area of approximately 3,600 square kilometres, and Total expects to start operations there during the 2020/2021. According to Total, Block 48 will be drilled at a world record water depth.
Qatar Petroleum said on Tuesday that the farm-in agreement was subject to customary approvals by the Angolan Government.
Upon receipt of the approvals, Total will have a 40 per cent stake and remain the operator of the block. Sonangol and Qatar Petroleum will hold 30 per cent each.
Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi , the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the president and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, said: “ Continuing on our journey to build a world-class exploration portfolio, by securing interests in promising exploration blocks in diverse geographies, we are pleased to be part of this exciting ultra-deepwater opportunity in Angola, a leading oil and gas producing country.
“ This is our first opportunity in Angola with both Sonangol, and our long-term partner Total, an experienced operator with significant in-country presence.
“ We would like to thank the Angolan authorities and our partners in this block for their support. We look forward to a longstanding and fruitful partnership ”.
As for Block 48, it is located in the ultra-deep waters offshore Lower Congo Basin, approximately 400 kilometres northwest of Luanda and 200 kilometres West of Soyo onshore facilities. The average water depth in the block is around 2,500 metres.
To remind, all oil drilling offshore Angola was stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Total on Tuesday said that it restarted offshore drilling using the Ocean Rig Skyros rig in Block 32.
According to Total, the rig will soon be joined by the Maersk Voyager and West Gemini drillships.