Operations
Year End Update
Tertiary Rift -- Kenya
Exploration and Appraisal (Blocks 10BB and 13T)
Operational activity has been focused in the South Lokichar basin. Work has been concluded in both the Amosing and Ngamia fields, where water injection testing took place at Ngamia-11 with oil production from the Ngamia-8 well. The Ngamia-3 well also successfully started production in June 2018. The produced oil from testing has been stored in the field. A comprehensive review of results from this program commenced in the third quarter of 2018. To date, the results are positive.
Following the agreement of the terms of The Petroleum Bill, the transfer of stored crude oil from Turkana to Mombasa by road commenced on 3 June 2018. This milestone was marked by a ceremony attended by President
H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta, Deputy President H.E. William Ruto, the Turkana County Governor, Turkana MPs as well as many other Government Ministers and officials.
The transfer of stored crude oil from Turkana to Mombasa by road continues, with trucks continuing to be dispatched, transporting approximately 600 bopd. To date, approximately 60,000 barrels of oil has been transported to Mombasa. The volume of oil transported by truck is expected to increase to 2,000 bopd once the Early Oil Production System is fully operational and production testing commences from the Amosing production facility. The first lifting of sweet Kenyan crude oil stored in Mombasa is expected in the second quarter of 2019.
Africa Oil Corp. has a 25% working interest in Blocks 10BB and 13T with Tullow Oil plc (50% and Operator) and Total S.A. (25%) holding the remaining interests.
Field Development (Blocks 10BB and 13T)
Since January 2018, work to deliver on the agreed development plan has been underway with strong alignment between the Government of Kenya and the Joint Venture Partners. The project continues to target FID in 2019. The initial development is planned to include a 60,000 to 80,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) Central Processing Facility (CPF) and an export pipeline to Lamu, some 750 kilometers from the South Lokichar basin on the Kenyan coast.
This approach is expected to bring significant benefits as it enables an early Final Investment Decision (FID) of the Amosing, Ngamia and Twiga fields, taking full advantage of the current low-cost environment for both the field and infrastructure development, as well as providing the best opportunity to deliver first oil in a timeline that meets the Government of Kenya expectations. The installed infrastructure can then be utilized for the optimization of the remaining and yet to be discovered South Lokichar oil fields, allowing the incremental development of these fields to be completed in an efficient and low cost manner post first oil. Additional stages of development are expected to increase plateau production to 100,000 bopd or greater.
Front End Engineering and Design ("FEED") and Environmental and Social Impact Assessment ("ESIA") work on the upstream are well underway, following the award of the upstream FEED and Integrated Project Management contracts to WorleyParsons in May 2018.
A Joint Development Agreement ("JDA"), setting out a structure for the Government of Kenya and the Kenya Joint Venture Partners to progress the development of the export pipeline, was signed on 25 October, 2017. The associated FEED and ESIA are nearing completion, with the pipeline FEED contract awarded to Wood Group, as well as studies on pipeline financing and ownership, which are expected to continue throughout 2019.
The Joint Venture Partners continue to negotiate key commercial Heads of Terms ("HOT's") with the Government of Kenya, related to agreements expected to establish the commercial structure associated with field development.
Exploration Blocks 10BA
During 2017, the Joint Venture Partners entered the Second Additional Exploration Period on Block 10BA.
Cretaceous Anza Rift -- Kenya
During the second quarter of 2018, the Company submitted a notice to the Government of Kenya relinquishing its interest in Block 9 (Kenya) resulting in a $44.7 million impairment of previously capitalized intangible exploration assets.
Tertiary Rift -- Ethiopia
The Company is continuing to seek joint venture partners to farmin to its 100% interest in the Rift Basin Area (Ethiopia). An application has been made to the Ethiopian government, seeking an extension of the current exploration period until August 2019. A $4.9 million impairment of previously capitalized intangible exploration assets has been recorded related to the Company's operations in Ethiopia.