Ophir Awaits Ministry Decision on Fortuna

Ophir Energy said on the morning of December 31 that it is still awaiting a response from the Equatorial Guinea ministry of mines and hydrocarbons (MMH) with regards to its request for an extension of the Block R licence and that it continues "to engage with the MMH, as well as potential investors in the Fortuna development."

"We expect to receive further communication from the MMH in January concerning either the lapse of the licence or the terms of any extension and will update shareholders as soon as the situation is clarified," the UK independent said. 

Equatorial Guinea's oil and gas minister Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima (pictured above) told reporters in London May 10 that, unless a final investment decision (FID) were taken by Ophir on its Fortuna floating LNG export project by end-2018, then the company could lose operatorship or the project could be scrapped.  No such FID has yet been announced.

A statement issued December 11 on behalf of the West African nation's oil and gas ministry omitted to mention the $2bn as yet-undeveloped Fortuna LNG project. 

Ophir added Dec.31 that its board "remains focused on implementing the strategy outlined in its announcement on September 13 and is proactively evaluating the options available to the company to maximise value for shareholders for the rest of the portfolio."

The UK company announced Sep.13 that its production focus would move to Asia, that it would seek offers for its LNG assets, and acknowledged that its Fortuna rescue efforts were "against the clock." It also reduced the book-value of its Fortuna project stake by half, from $610mn to $300mn.