West Africa
Africa saw more oil discoveries in 2001 than any other major oil-producing region in the world. IHS Energy Group's World Petroleum Trends Report (August 2002) estimates the newly discovered volume of oil for the region at 2.6 Bbbl.
West Africa is a region of seemingly limitless opportunity. Tremendous fields have been discovered off Angola and Nigeria, and their successful development has opened the region to increased investment. While other areas of the world are attracting investment in varying degrees, West Africa is drawing a tremendous volume of upstream E&P expenditures. Between 2002 and 2006, there are 168 field prospects under consideration or planned to come on stream with reserves totaling 18 Bboe.
Though interest in Angola and Nigeria has shadowed other areas of opportunity in West Africa, a second tier of West African countries offers promising prospects, some of which are already coming to fruition. Namibia, Equatorial Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Benin, Cameroon, Gabon, and Congo will see increasingly more of the money flowing into the region.
The Joint Development Zone (JDZ) set up by Nigeria and Sao Tome and Principe opened bids for deepwater blocks in the Gulf of Guinea in August 2002. Nine blocks were put on offer in a newly opened area that holds an estimated four Bbbl of oil.
Off Cote d'Ivoire, Canadian Natural Resources began development of the 300 MMbbl deepwater Baobab project using an FPSO in 4,869 ft of water. Off Equatorial Guinea, Amerada Hess has seen one discovery after another. The Ceiba field has proven to be prolific, and a development plan for the six discoveries in the Rio Muni Basin should lead to production by late 2003 or early 2004. Meanwhile, Marathon and Noble Affiliates are teaming up with the Equatorial Guinea government on the Alba expansion project, which will yield recoverable reserves of up to 4.6 tcf of gas and 300 MMbbl of condensate.
Kerr-McGee announced in the summer of 2002 that it would drill the first deepwater well ever offshore Benin by the end of the year. A more lax fiscal regime implemented by the Benin government for its 1998 licensing round has favorably changed the country's investment environment and will draw more investors to the region.
Hunt Oil signed a Production Sharing Contract with Togo in late July for the country's first deepwater well. And Devon Energy has announced plans to drill a deepwater well off Ghana by the beginning of 2003.
In the shallow water off Gabon, the Vaalco Gabon Group completed the ET-4H well in July 2002. First production from the Etame Development program, in 250 ft water depth, was scheduled to begin in September.
