Oil and Gas

Recognised as the second largest oil and gas firm in Southern Africa, Petromoc, or Petróleos de Moçambique to give it its local name, was formed in 1999 and is Mozambique’s state-owned distributor of petroleum products. Born out of the transformation of the Mozambique National Fuel Company, Petromoc today owns the largest retail network in the country, one that consists of 119 filling stations and supply posts, and 300 local consumer positions.

The two blocks, the inland Block B and offshore Block 15, were offered to the company on a nomination basis following a meeting between India’s Oil and Natural Gas Minister, Veerappa Moily, and Sudan’s Petroleum Minister, Hatim Abuelgasin Mukhtar M Elamin, last week. Should the offer be accepted ONGC Videsh would have 100 percent right of investment in the blocks in Block B, which are reported to have established oil reserves, and Block 15, which is currently at the exploratory stage.

Total SA of France has become the first oil major to back shale gas exploration in Britain by announcing that it will commit £30 million to advance drilling projects in Lincolnshire. Total will pay $1.6 million in back costs and fund a work programme of up to $46.5 million, with a $19.5 million minimum commitment.

The measure opens up state-run oil fields to foreign investment, allowing private firm to explore and extract oil and gas alongside the state-run company Pemex, and subsequently claim a share of any profits made.

Following the Senate vote President Enrique Pena Nieto wrote on Twitter that it was "a significant decision for Mexico". Mr Pena Nieto said it was necessary to modernise Mexico's energy sector and increase oil production, which has dropped from 3.4 million barrels per day in 2004 to the current rate of 2.5 million barrels per day.

The situation for obtaining gasoline, diesel oil and other oil products in Costa Rica is not ideal just at present. Following an accident in 2011 it was decided that the country’s refinery at Moin, part of the Caribbean, or east coast, port of Limón, was too expensive to run, and since then the country has relied entirely on imported petroleum products.

Located in Century City, a business development within the suburbs of Cape Town, the office will act as a regional hub for the company’s activities in Sub-Saharan Africa, which covers various territories including Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Cameroon, and Tanzania. The opening comes on the eve of the 20th Africa Oil Week, starting on the 25 November.

Following a lacklustre second quarter for the European oil and gas sector, there were distinct signs of improvement in the three months to September, with eleven disclosed value deals taking place, between them worth $2.96 billion. While it is true that the lion’s share of this is accounted for by just one deal, the $2.65 billion purchase of North Sea assets from Statoil by Austrian company OMV, analysts feel that this could be a sign that the second quarter was an exception and stimulate a greater volume of deals going forward.

Boa Offshore specialises in the transport of large-scale support equipment for the offshore industries oil and gas in particular. Ruari McCallion takes a closer look at the company.