Equatorial Guinea has finalised agreements that will see Noble Energy’s Alen field become a major gas hub for the country, acting as a host platform for discoveries in the US operator's blocks I and O and potentially some finds farther afield.

The first part of the plan will see gas from Alen and Noble's nearby Aseng field — which has so far been reinjected — exported to Marathon Oil's Punta Europa facilities on Bioko Island, with start-up expected in early 2021.

The Ministry of Mines & Hydrocarbons (MMH) said this reinjected gas resource will be piped to the Alba liquefied petroleum gas processing plant and the Equatorial Guinea Liquefied Natural Gas (EG LNG) facility.

Upstream understands that a tender process covering a 70-kilometre export line between Alen and the island is under way.

This pipeline will be able to transport about 950 million cubic feet per day of gas.

The Alen platform will undergo minor modifications to export gas, while primary condensate will continue to be produced and lifted offshore via the Aseng floating production, storage and offloading vessel.

Modifications are already under way at the Alba plant in order to receive Alen's gas, while no work is needed at the EG LNG facility — which has so far been fed by gas from Marathon's Alba field.

Marathon will remain operator of the Alba LPG and EG LNG plants, although the stakes in both held by state-owned Sonagas will increase from 25% to 30%. The remaining partners in EG LNG are Mitsui and Marubeni.

Noble Energy is the other stakeholder in the Alba LPG facility.

According to the MMH, Alen will be the first of many offshore gas hubs the government envisions in the future, all feeding gas into the Punta Europa facilities which, as Alba production falls, are increasingly short of feedstock.

Minister of Mines & Hydrocarbons, Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, said: “This is the kick-off of our gas mega hub (strategy) and we will do more deals on other gas assets in the country that must be developed."

The 2.5 trillion cubic foot deep-water Fortuna discovery is one such undeveloped gas asset, while companies such as Marathon and ExxonMobil currently operate, but have yet to develop, many smaller gas and condensate finds.

In addition, there has been talk for years that gas held in undeveloped finds in neighbouring Cameroon — some operated by Noble — could make their way to Bioko Island.

"It is my firm belief," said Obiang Lima, "that it (the gas hub) will create opportunities for development of our citizens in the upstream and downstream segments of the country’s oil and natural gas industry.”

He estimated that monetising Alen's gas could deliver around $1.5 billion to $2 billion in additional revenues to government coffers over the life of the project.

Obiang Lima stressed that "local content is going to play an integral part in the implementation of the (gas hub) project when it comes to contracting and jobs for our citizens."

The Punta Europa plants and Alen platform currently employ about 1400 people.

Noble's partners in blocks O and I include Glencore, state-owned Gepetrol, Atlas-Oranto and Gunvor Resources.

Nigerian independent Atlas-Oranto said it will invest “close to $350 million on pooling supply from stranded gas fields in Equatorial Guinea and the Gulf of Guinea” to replace declining output from the Alba field.

“Our investment in this backfill project will confirm Atlas Oranto as a strong African gas player,” said executive chairman Arthur Eze.

“Gas monetisation is the key for Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria and the whole of Africa, enabling both gas-to-power and an end to gas flaring,” he added.

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Equatorial Guinea gets gas hub