From Nigeria’s Niger Delta to Algeria’s Hassi Messaoud and Hassi R’Mel areas, Africa’s mature oil provinces are seeking to revitalize their mature assets in a low-carbon future. Targeting new strategies, technologies and best practices, African Energy Week: Invest in African Energy 2024 in Cape Town will feature a dedicated panel on Africa’s legacy fields, bringing together the E&P companies leading near-field exploration and redevelopment activities across the continent. 

Under the theme – Unlocking Hidden Value: Maximizing Africa’s Mature Fields – the panel will share valuable insights into reservoir management, enhanced oil recovery techniques, digital and automation technologies, optimization strategies and more to highlight the untapped production potential within Africa’s oil and gas acreage. Panelists include Jean-Michel, CEO of Trident Energy; Armel Simondin, CEO of Perenco; Rahul Dhir, CEO of Tullow Oil; Paul McDade, CEO of Afentra; and George Maxwell, CEO of VAALCO Energy.

AEW: Invest in African Energy is the platform of choice for project operators, financiers, technology providers and government, and has emerged as the official place to sign deals in African energy. Visit www.AECWeek.com for more information about this exciting event.

Africa’s mature oil markets are seeing a number of independent operators drive production gains, prioritizing incremental exploration and innovative technologies to breathe new life into existing assets. In Gabon, Perenco launched appraisal drilling near its existing Hylia South West discovery in February 2024 to identify additional reservoirs and estimate oil volumes, ranging from 20 to 100 million barrels. Spearheading an infrastructure-led exploration (ILX) strategy, Tullow Oil is pivoting toward infill drilling to maximize production from its Gabonese assets and plans to drill two ILX wells at its Simba license later this year, as well as maintain 100,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) output from its Jubilee field through infill drilling over the next few years.

Maximizing production from its mid-life oil and gas assets, Trident Energy launched a three-well infill drilling campaign on Block G – home to the mature Ceiba and Okume fields – offshore Equatorial Guinea earlier this year. Meanwhile, VAALCO Energy is leading development of the country’s Venus Field in Block P, which involves drilling two producer wells and one water injector well. The program aligns with the company’s plans to double its crude production of over 50,000 bpd by 2027, as well as grow its output from maturing fields. 

Oil and gas independent Afentra is also focusing on optimizing, redeveloping and extending the lifespan of Africa’s legacy assets. In Angola, the company recently gained approval for the acquisition of Block 23, focusing on high-quality, long-life shallow water production assets with significant upside. Afentra is working to maximize production and reserves, while reducing emissions and fostering synergies across its assets through an innovation-led approach.

The development of marginal fields is another key production driver within Africa’s mature markets. Under its planned 2024 bid round, Nigeria is placing a strong emphasis on marginal assets, which offer the potential to boost efficiency of the sector, bring new resources online and diversify the country’s exploration landscape. Nigeria’s previous marginal licensing round in 2020 featured 57 fields, of which the largest 25 are expected to generate over $9 billion of investment in their first five years of operation and over $38 billion in lifetime revenue. Meanwhile, Angola is offering five marginal fields for exploration in addition to 24 other block opportunities. Representing a first for the country, the marginal fields are situated in operated blocks and hold proven reserves with commercial potential.