Six junior companies have been awarded acreage in Equatorial Guinea’s latest licensing round, while ExxonMobil was handed a key block via direct negotiation.

Building on its existing position in the country, London-listed Ophir Energy secured Block EG-24 off Rio Muni and adjacent to promising acreage operated by Kosmos Energy across the Sao Tome & Principe maritime border.

This asset also lies due west of Hess’ producing Ceiba and Oveng-Okume fields.

The award boosts Ophir’s presence in Equatorial Guinea, where it is set to take a final investment decision in August on its Fortuna floating liquefied natural gas project, which is underpinned by about 2.5 trillion cubic feet of gas resources in Block R.

Nigeria’s Atlas Petroleum, in partnership with South Africa’s state-owned Strategic Fuel Fund (SFF), picked up Block EG-10 off Rio Muni, where Chevron’s Ballena-1 probe had oil shows in 2003.

This acreage is located adjacent to Block H, which Atlas has operated for years, and next door to a number of shallow-water oil discoveries that state-owned Gepetrol and Vaalco Energy aim to develop.

Nigerian trading company Taleveras — which already has blocks off Ivory Coast — was awarded Block EG-07, directly west of Bioko Island and which houses the Langosta gas and condensate discovery.

Taleveras and the SFF are both partners — with the Equatorial Guinea government, Gunvor group and a Saudi investor — in a planned oil storage facility on Bioko Island.

Dublin-based Clontarf Energy, which is active off Ghana, was awarded Block EG-18, abutting the maritime border with Sao Tome and directly north of Ophir’s EG-24.

Government data suggests this acreage hosts Miocene channels and fans as well as Upper Cretaceous fan systems.

Clontarf said it will focus on large structural and/or stratigraphic traps in this northern Rio Muni basin play.

The company said the bid terms include “65% oil cost recovery, a $150,000-signature bonus, standard commerciality and production bonuses and normal land taxes”.

The block’s production royalty is 13%, rising to 16% on production over 100,000 barrels per day of oil, while profit tax is 35%.

Clontarf is committed to acquiring seismic data in an initial three-year exploration period and drilling one well.

Israeli player Elenilto landed Block EG-09, immediately south of Noble Energy’s producing Aseng and Alen fields off Bioko Island and where the unsuccessful Q-1A wildcat was drilled by South African state oil company PetroSA, the former operator.

This block is interpreted to host Miocene channel fan systems.

Elenilto — founded by Israeli entrepreneur Jacob Engel and with head offices in both Tel Aviv and London — currently operates acreage off Senegal and onshore Georgia.

Nigerian minnow Offshore Equator was handed promising Block EG-23, located north of Bioko Island and sandwiched between Marathon Oil’s major Alba gas-condensate field and ExxonMobil’s Zafiro field.

Adjacent to the maritime boundary with Nigeria, this asset hosts the Ambar and Tsavorita oil discoveries as well as six wells with oil and gas shows.

The chairman of Offshore Equator is Chika Eneanya, who is also associated with Orange Petroleum and Sagittarius Oil & Gas and worked for Oranto Petroleum up until 2007.

ExxonMobil, meanwhile, was awarded Block EG-11 as a result of direct negotiation with the government.

The supermajor has already signed a production sharing agreement for the block which is contiguous to its Zafiro field.

Out of 23 companies to have expressed interest in the licensing round since it opened in June 2016, a dozen players submitted bids.

The Equatorial Guinea government is set to begin negotiations with selected companies on 19 June.

Production sharing contracts should be signed by 15 September and ratified before the end of this year.

The PSCs have two initial exploration periods that can be twice be extended by one-year.

The state is entitled to a 20% carried interest participation.

Energy Minister Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima said: “The important thing is (the) companies (are) dedicated and willing to do exploration and that is the thing that needs to be done.”

Lima’s ministry has also provided extensions of one month each to France's Total and Russia’s Lukoil to complete discussions on the potential award of licences.

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Six players get acreage in Equatorial Guinea round