AGR going to Guinea-Bissau for well management job

AGR, part of the Oslo-listed global energy, marine, and engineering consultancy ABL Group, has been awarded a well management contract by Apus Energia Guinea-Bissau – owned by Apus Energy DMCC, a Dubai-based joint venture majority owned by Petromal LLC – for a deepwater exploration well in the Sinapa license offshore Guinea-Bissau.

The drilling activities, which are set to start in the summer of 2024, will be undertaken with Diamond Drilling’s Ocean BlackRhino ultra-deepwater drillship, which has been contracted by Apus Energia for the upcoming drilling campaign.

Eyas Alhomouz, Apus Energy’s CEO, remarked: “We welcome AGR to join our drilling and well experts in delivering a long-awaited well in the southern part of the MSGBC basin with significant hydrocarbon potential. We hope this project will contribute to developing our future cooperation with ABL Group.”

AGR’s scope will be executed by its well project management team based in Perth, Western Australia. During this assignment, AGR will provide consultancy in well construction, drilling engineering, procurement, supply chain management, and operational supervision of the drilling.

Lynden Duthie, AGR’s Well Management MD, commented: “We are pleased to be working on this exciting project in West Africa, which is a testament to our commitment to excellence. Together with our recent contract wins, it underscores our dedication to being the unparalleled provider of well management and associated services globally. We are eager to bring our expertise to this project and further strengthen our position in the industry.”

The 2014-built Ocean BlackRhino is an ultra-deepwater drillship from Hyundai Heavy Industries, which comes with dynamic-positioning, dual-activity capability, maximum hook-load capacity of 1,250 tons, water depth capabilities up to 12,000 feet, and drilling depth capabilities up to 40,000 feet. 

This deal comes months after PetroNor agreed to transfer its 100% interest in the Sinapa (Block 2) and Esperança (Blocks 4A and 5) exploration licenses offshore Guinea-Bissau to Apus Energia for a payment of up to $85 million covering past license costs of at least $25 million on completion of the transaction, and two contingent payments of $30 million subject to government approval of a field development plan and the subsequent achievement of continuous production.

These licences span a total area of 4,963 sq km and contain two main prospects, Atum and Anchova, thought to contain prospective resources of 467 MMbbl.