Petroleum Africa
Find us on: 
Wednesday, April 5, 2017
Cobalt International Energy could be going into arbitration over its assets in Angola, blocks 20 and 21. The company is seeking an extension on its deepwater blocks and has had no response from state-run Sonangol.
The company submitted a Notice of Dispute to Sonangol on March 8 under the Agreement. Cobalt said that if the Angolan state-run firm does not resolve the issue in a timely manner to its satisfaction, Cobalt will move on to arbitration.
Cobalt has been trying to sell the blocks for several years. A deal to sell the licenses to Sonangol in a $1.75 billion deal fell through in 2016 because required approvals from the Angolan government did not come in time.
While it will continue to fulfill its obligations as operator of the blocks, it said it does not plan to make any material investments in Angola until this matter is resolved to its satisfaction.
Timothy J. Cutt, Cobalt’s CEO said, “While it is clear that our sale process has been negatively impacted by the uncertainty surrounding the extensions, it is also clear that Sonangol’s preference is for Cobalt to present potential buyers to Sonangol to finalize and grant the extensions. While we continue to work the sales process, we must also continue to work to protect our rights and thus have formally notified Sonangol of our dispute. We hope to resolve things amicably with Sonangol but will be ready for arbitration as well.”
" alt="ReconAfrica Updates Activity on Upcoming Namibia Drilling Program">
" alt="SDX Disposes of West Gharib Asset in Egypt">
" alt="Botala Increases Stake in Botswana’s Serowe CBM Project">
" alt="Petrofac Awarded Technical Services Contract by GEPetrol">
" alt="Uganda Signs its Fourth CPF with International Atomic Authority">
" alt="EcoFlow Introduces Loadshedding Technology to South Africa">
