All articles in the Farm in, Farm Out Section:

Angolan junior, Etu Energias, has signaled it wants to exercise its pre-emption rights in relation to  Energean Plc’s  proposed acquisition of Chevron’s 31% operated interest in Block 14 and a 15.5% non-operated interest in Block 14K,  in deep-water offshore Angola.

The proposed Sale and Purchase was announced by Energean Plc, a UK headquartered company, on March 12, 2026.

Energean’s latest release says that it has been informed that Chevron has received notice from one of the joint venture partners, Etu Energias, purporting to exercise its pre-emption rights in relation to the Transaction.

“The sale and purchase agreement entered into between Energean and Chevron remains in effect until: (i) the relevant pre-emption right is determined to have been validly exercised and executed; and (ii) a new sale and purchase agreement between Chevron and Etu Energias has been executed and completed,” Energean says in the release.

Etu Energias, the largest homegrown Angolan E&P company, appears keen to take significant control of Blocks 14 & 14K.  Only last March, it signed  a sale and purchase agreement  to acquire Azule Energy’s  20% working interest in Block 14 and a 10% working interest in Block 14K, after moving to  invalidate an earlier agreement between BW Energy, Maurel & Prom and Azule Energy. It is now finalizing the process of payment of  $310Million, including $195Million in base cash consideration, along with contingent payments of up to $115Million based on future performance to Azule Energy in respect of that transaction.

But there is a catch in the Energean-Chevron deal

Energean notes that any assignment to Etu Energias with regards to its transaction with Chevron, “must be made on the same or equivalent terms as the sale and purchase agreement between Energean and Chevron.

“This includes the condition precedent requiring the buyer to deliver evidence to the seller that it is a proven deepwater oil and gas operator of at least one existing deepwater producing asset in water depths greater than 300 metres, both within 15 days after signing and as at the unconditional date”.

São Tomé e Príncipe’s upstream Petroleum Regulator Agência Nacional do Petróleo de São Tomé e Príncipe (“ANP-STP”), has invited eligible oil companies to submit their technical and financial proposal to acquire up to 85% of Participating lnterest in Blocks 7, 8 and 9 of the country’s Economic Exclusive Zone.

The invitation is accordance with the provisions of the Framework Law on Petroleum Operations – Law no. 16/2009 and “in the context of an increasing and reiterated interest in the attractiveness and prospectivity of oil and gas blocks in the Western part of the Economic Exclusive Zone of Sao Tome and Principe”, the regulator says.

Deadline for submission is June 30, 2026.

• Proposals should be submitted by letter addressed to the Executive Director of ANP-STP mentioning the concerned block and with the following information:

1. a) Company name;
2. b) Full address;
3. c) Director /Person in charge

• Additionally, it is requested to annex the following documents:

1. a) A brief company overview, including financial information and list of major shareholders;
2. b) Certificate of commercial registration and Articles of Association;
3. c) Credit Rating in accordance with Standard and Poors or Moodys standard, if applicable;
4. d) Balance sheet and income statement for the last three fiscal years;
5. e) Brief overview of experience in deep water oil and gas exploration;
6. f) In case of a consortium, a statement of intent to set up the consortium, with the

definition of the participants and the Operator, signed by all parties.

• Interested companies may obtain further information at the address provided

below, from 8:00 to 12:00 and from 14:00 to 17:00 or through email:

leilao.blocos@anp-stp.gov.st

• As per Regulation ANP-STP n01/2014, the submission of each proposal is subject to

. a payment fee of USD 25,000.00 (twenty five thousand US Dollars).

• Proposals should be submitted before 17:00 (Sao Tome e Principe time), 30 June

2026 by email: leilao.blocos@anp-stp.gov.st or by mail in a sealed envelope under

subject “Proposal for Block nO_ Announcement no. 01/2026” to the following address:

Agência Nacional do Petróleo de São Tomé e Príncipe

Avenida das Nações Unidas, n.? 225 A

P.O.Box no. 1048 – São Tomé

Democratic Republic of Sao Tome e Principe

Tel.: +23922433350

E-mail: leilao.blocos@anp-stp.gov.st

Web: www.anp-stp.gov.st

Egyptian authorities have convinced the French major TOTALEnerges to be part of the exploration studies for new gas in the country, without committing to the terms  of a regular licence.

In the event, the state hydrocarbon firm Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) has  signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the company on exploration activities, “covering a large area located in the north-western offshore.

“The MoU establishes a framework for technical cooperation including preliminary exploration and subsurface evaluation activities”, TOTAL says in a release.

TOTAL is already involved in a number of concessions in the country, including being the operator of the North Ras Kanayis Offshore block, a 4,550 square kilometre acreage, located in the Herodotus Basin in the Mediterranean Sea. North Ras Kanayis extends from 5 to 150 kilometres from the shore, with water depths ranging from 50 to 3,200 metres.

But the MoU  signed on May 13, 2026 is about a broad, desktop study, he result of which will determine whether or not to take up a permit in the area.

“We are pleased to launch this cooperation with EGAS, which reflects our shared ambition to further strengthen our partnership with the Arab Republic of Egypt. This agreement will support the assessment of Egypt’s deep offshore exploration potential” said Nicola Mavilla, Senior Vice President Exploration at TOTALEnergies.

The first batch of Companies and Consortia selected to participate in Project Delta, the divestment process by which NNPC Ltd hopes to attract capital and high quality project execution into its assets, were initially expected to submit non-binding offers  and letters of intent by latest April 20, 2026,  for the assets they are offered out of the pile.

That timeline has been postponed to June 4, 2026.

The Binding Offers, which were originally  expected to be submitted in in June 2026, with documentation and closing to be done with by August 2026, will now be postponed to later dates.

The postponement of the Non-Binding Offer date has inadvertently…

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By Justine Njoroge, in Dar es Salam

Canadian junior Orca Energy, the largest producer of natural gas in Tanzania, has initiated divestment of its assets in the country, citing on-going high risks and constrained future prospects.

The company reports that it has entered into a definitive Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Taifa Gas Tanzania Limited and Amber Energy Investment L.L.CFZ , and together with Taifa, pursuant to which Orca will sell all of the outstanding shares of PanAfrican Energy Corporation (PAEM), its wholly-owned Mauritian holding subsidiary through which it operates its Tanzanian asset .

Upon closing of the Proposed Transaction, Taifa will acquire 49% of PAEM and Amber will acquire 51%.

This exit is significant: Orca supplied the first gas to Songas power generation plant in Dar es Salaam in 2004 and thereby birthed the domestic gas market in Tanzania. Orca’s natural gas output has peaked at 105Million standard cubic feet per day, supplying industries and power plants over the last 20 years.

Between the two of them, Orca’s Songo Songo project and M&P’s Mnazi Bay facility produce around 200MMscf/d, entirely utilised in the country, making Tanzania one of sub-Saharan Africa’s top five domestic gas markets.

The sale to Taifa Gas and Amber Energy represents a handover of an international, Toronto listed company to local Tanzanian players.

Orca says that its Board of Directors’ decision to exit the Tanzanian business follows a lengthy and comprehensive assessment of the risks and challenges Orca faces regarding its Tanzanian operations and the future of its business, including ongoing disputes and claims and the prospects of extending the Songo Songo development license and production sharing agreement.

“While discussions to extend the license and production sharing contract continue, there is significant uncertainty on the outcome and terms of any such extension”, Orca explains in a statement.

In that context, the Board determined that retaining the business would require Orca to maintain significant cash balances to address highly uncertain future commitments and contingent tax liabilities, including potentially material capital expenditures, development-related obligations and the costs of arbitration and other litigation, the timing and outcome of which are years away and uncertain.

The Songo Songo gas field is located on and offshore Songo Songo Island, approximately 15 kilometres from the Tanzanian mainland and around 200 kilometres south of Dar es Salaam. It was Tanzania’s first natural gas development and remains one of the country’s most important energy assets, currently accounting for approximately 54% of the country’s daily gas output, according to Tanzaniainvest, a business portal. The field holds total proved and probable reserves of 293Billion cubic feet, with a productive capacity of approximately 165MMscf/d. The infrastructure includes a gas processing facility with a capacity of 110MMscf/d, a 25-kilometre 12-inch offshore pipeline, and a 207-kilometre 16-inch onshore pipeline that transports processed gas to Dar es Salaam, where it supplies power generation plants and industrial customers. In 2001, Tanzania granted the Songo Songo Development License to the TPDC for an initial term of 25 years, expiring in 2026. Orca Energy has operated the field through PAET since 2004.

Details of the Transaction

The SPA provides for a nominal cash price of $10.00 for the PAEM shares, which is in addition to the other covenants, warranties, representations and obligations of the Purchasers under the agreement and the strategic and commercial benefits that would accrue to Orca by exiting its Tanzanian business.

Under the Share Purchase Agreement, Orca may cause its subsidiaries to repay any amounts owing to it prior to closing and, subject to applicable solvency requirements, to declare and pay dividends or other distributions prior to closing. Orca also retains the right to receive 50% of certain extraordinary income realized between signing and closing.

Following closing of the Proposed Transaction, Orca will cease to own PAEM and its wholly-owned subsidiary PanAfrican Energy Tanzania Limited (PAET), and will not retain any ongoing ownership interest in the Tanzanian business, other than the specific pre-closing economic entitlements provided for in the Share Purchase Agreement.

Accordingly, Orca will not have any further interest or obligation in any favourable or adverse outcomes associated with the extension of the Songo Songo development license and production sharing agreement or arbitrations with the Government of Tanzania (the GoT).

PAEM, through its subsidiary PAET, holds Orca’s entire interest in the Songo Songo gas field in Tanzania, including PAET’s rights and obligations under the production sharing agreement among PAET, the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC), and the GoT, and related gas marketing, project agreements and other assets .

The Tanzania Assets represent 100% of Orca’s operating assets and business at this time.

The Board has determined that based on the net asset position of PAEM and PAET in the near term, the Tanzania Assets have no material residual value given:

• all geological data and information are the property of the GoT;
• all fixed assets owned by PAET in connection with its operations become the property of the TPDC

upon expiry or termination of the Songo Songo license and production sharing agreement;

• the fair market value of PAET’s moveable assets is nominal; and
• PAET’s contingent tax and other Tanzanian liabilities are significant