Partners to ETU Energias (the company formerly known as Somoil), have announced that they do not recognize the agreement signed between ETU Energias and SLB (formerly Schlumberger), regarding technical work on the Angolan deepwater block 2/05.
“ETU Energias acted with a lack of transparency”, the Angolan business journal Expansão quoted Pedro Godinho, president of Prodoil, as saying. “If this behaviour persists, our recourse will be to invoke the article of the joint operations agreement, demonstrating that the operator is acting in bad faith. And if necessary, resort to removing the paper operator of the asset”.
Angola’s largest indigenous E&P firm, ETU Energias, operates Block 2/05 with 36% interest. Its partners on the block are majorly other Angolan indies, including Falcon Oil, Prodoil, Kotoil and Poliedro, who collectively hold 64%.
Falcon, Prodoil, Kotoil and Poliedro, are claiming that ETU Energias did not consult them and they did not approve its technical agreement with SLB, signed on the sidelines of Angola Oil and Gas Conference 2023 (September 13-14, 2023).
In the press statement released on the agreement by SLB, there are no details of what the work entails or what value will be derived vide the agreement. It simply says: “The agreement will outline how SLB and ETU Energias will work together and define the scope of work, payment terms, and deadlines for their business partnership”.
But the partners lament that the agreement is about a $500Million project “that could have an impact on the finances of the block”. As partners, they allege, they had been contacted by Schlumberger, But they had not granted their consent.
