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Gas monetization from the Alen Unit underway

The project will help develop Equatorial Guinea as a gas mega hub.

Equatorial Guinea’s Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons has secured Definitive Agreements to monetize gas from the Alen Unit, operated by Noble Energy EG Ltd. and located in Blocks O and I offshore Equatorial Guinea.

The Definitive Agreements – executed between the Ministry, Alen Unit and respective Punta Europa Plant owners, and signed at the APPO Cape VII Congress and Exhibition on April 1 – commit for tolling Alen Unit gas through Alba Plant LLC’s liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) processing plant and EG LNG’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) production facility, both located in the Punta Europa LNG terminal.

The project will provide an additional source of gas for the Punta Europa facilities and transform the Alen platform into an offshore gas hub for the development of both Alen Unit gas and other Block O and I discoveries, as well as potential new gas fields in the Gulf of Guinea. In addition, the Alen Gas offshore hub will be the first hub in the government’s vision of developing Equatorial Guinea as a gas mega hub, comprising of additional offshore gas hubs, all feeding gas into the Punta Europa facilities.

“Development of the gas mega hub will ensure a thriving Equatorial Guinea gas industry into the future. It is my firm belief that it will create opportunities for development of our citizens in the upstream and downstream segments of the country’s oil and natural gas industry,” said Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons, H.E. Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima.

He added that the monetization of Alen Unit gas could deliver between $1.5 to $2 billion dollars in additional state revenue over the life of the project, including revenue from Alen Unit and respective Punta Europa plants.

“Local content will play an integral role in the implementation of the project when it comes to contracting and jobs for our citizens. I am happy this project will support Equatoguineans employed by the Punta Europa plants and Alen platform, which currently stands at approximately 1,400 employees in total,” the Minister noted.

Existing production and processing facilities are already in place at the Alen Platform and in Punta Europa – primary condensate will continue to be produced and lifted offshore via the Aseng Floating production storage and offloading, with minor modifications needed for the Alen offshore platform to export gas.

The Alen Unit joint venture will install and operate a 70km pipeline to transport gas from the Alen Platform to Punta Europa, where it will be processed and transported for sales in the global market. The pipeline will be capable of transporting approximately 950 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, with first gas expected in the first quarter of 2021.

The Alen Unit consists of Block O and Block I contractor groups, collectively comprising Noble Energy, Glencore Exploration Limited, Compañía Nacional de Petróleos de Guinea Ecuatorial, Atlas-Oranto Petroleum International Limited and Gunvor Resources Limited.

Marathon Oil is the majority shareholder in both Alba Plant LLC and EG LNG. This agreement will see EG’s national gas company, Sonagas GE, increase its stake in the plant from 25 percent to 30 percent.