Three players unlocking West Africa’s ‘lucrative’ undeveloped oil & gas reserves

Norway’s carbon capture and energy transition EPC provider Carbon Circle has joined forces with Amplus VGE, a joint venture between UK-headquartered Amplus Energy and Nigeria-based Versatile Group (VG Energy), to target marginal oil and gas fields in West Africa in a bid to bring their full untapped potential to the fore while also lending a helping hand in amping up the carbon capture momentum.

While combining the oil field development and production expertise of Amplus Energy and VG enables the Amplus VGE partnership to unleash the full potential of West Africa through field development solutions, local engagement, and stakeholder collaboration, the addition of Carbon Circle and its carbon capture technology, has the potential to deliver full-service solutions to support owners of undeveloped oil and gas fields through the entire cycle of unlocking their reserves from production to carbon capture.

Commenting on this, Steve Gardyne, Amplus’ Managing Director, pointed out: “Amplus has been very interested to bring our approach and solutions to the West African region for some time, and establishing this joint venture is a key step for us. It allows us to work with like-minded partners, bringing a fresh impetus and options for developers and field owners in the region.”

Amplus VGE with support from Carbon Circle is determined to bring innovative solutions to unseal – what it deems to be – “lucrative” marginal fields in West Africa. To this end, the firm also made a long-term investment in the region with the recent opening of a new Nigerian office in Abuja while planning to create more local employment opportunities, along with essential skills training and development.

Neil Thompson, Amplus’ Vice President – Sales & Marketing, remarked: “Our goal is to become the industry leader in this region – leveraging our experience and the expertise of a strong team to disrupt the market with a wide range of flexible and innovative solutions designed to overcome production challenges without losing productivity.

“This joint venture is made possible thanks to the support and assistance of VG Energy. Their regional connections and business expertise are integral in helping to navigate local licensing, along with recruiting skilled local employees. We are thankful for their partnership and look forward to working together to unlock the full resource potential of the region.”

Furthermore, Amplus recently invested in Carbon Circle to back the growth of the emerging carbon capture industry and enhance its field development and floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) operations.

Engr. Dr. Mohammed Baba Shehu, Chairman and CEO of VG Energy, said: “This area of West Africa is rich in resources and, while some are difficult to reach, the Amplus VGE approach to innovative ideas and outside-the-box solutions is creating ways to extract those resources so regional field owners and operators can prosper.”

Currently, Carbon Circle is supporting a West African FPSO project, which will integrate a carbon circle post-combustion carbon capture pilot plant offshore.

Aslak Hjelde, CEO of Carbon Circle, noted: “Partnering with Amplus VGE provides an opportunity to expand on Carbon Circle’s FPSO work in West Africa. We are proud to support Amplus VGE in its plans to work with regional operators by delivering the top-quality carbon capture and energy transition solutions Carbon Circle is known for.”

Africa is fast becoming a new exploration hotspot, with recent hydrocarbon discoveries in Angola and Namibia pushing the region into the spotlight. The seven African countries, which produce liquefied natural gas (LNG) for export are expected to be joined by several more by 2035, including Senegal, Mauritania, Congo, Tanzania, and Ethiopia.

In addition, Nigeria and Mozambique also plan on bringing multiple new LNG plants online to supplement existing facilities. As a result, Africa is bound to see new LNG production units built over the next decade, enabling the region to secure its place at the top of the upcoming developments in the oil and gas industry.