AGEOS
Today 11:52

Those who are aware of ZEN's potential interests in the Congo [Brazzaville] will know that the Tilapia Field is the first of several possible acquisitions under negotiation. An RNS on 07.07.2020 was the first to mention a second, though unnamed, target, and in a Feb 2021 Financial Fox interview AC referred to “discussions regarding second and possible third and fourth assets.”

In considering possible targets I detailed, in posts on 10.07.2020 & 12.02.2021, the merits of the MKB Fields [Mengo, Kundji, Bindi & Tchiniambi Fields] as the most likely candidates, with that of the Kundji Field conforming most closely with the characteristics of the target acquisition as described in the 07.07.2020 RNS. By that time [ie 2020] the MKB Fields were fully under the control of SONAREP, the Research and Production subsidiary of SNPC [National Oil Company] having progressively reverted to the state during the previous two decades due to falling production.

It now appears, from articles published on www.africaintelligence.com on 14.& 31. 01.2022 that operational control, in part or whole, of the “MKB Concession” or “MKB Block” may have been acquired by an entity described as an American company called “Trident OGX” I quote from “Africa Intelligence” in a qualified manner since its previous reportage on Congo matters has at best been inaccurate and at worst the object of litigation. Without going into detail on the merits or otherwise of this particular claim, it is sufficient to state that although there is no official corroboration of which I am aware; and the transfer of operational control from SONAREP does not appear to have been ratified by the Council of Ministers, there is circumstantial evidence to confirm involvement of a company named “Trident OGX International Pte Ltd” based in Singapore, in a study of the Mengo Reservoir mineralogy [see link below]

www.tridentogx.com [click on “experience”, then on “Congo Public Data”

This company is part of the Trident OGX Group, and appears to specialise in O & G Upstream Project Management. The document entitled “Reservoir Observations Related to Clay Content” Aug 2021 was probably prepared for a client/prospective JV evaluating the Mengo Reservoir production potential within the MKB group of Fields. Trident OGX is not itself directly involved in O & G Field Operations so the 'Africa Intelligence' claim that it has acquired operational control from SNPC seems unlikely; more so that a client of Trident OGX has, or is negotiating for, part or whole of the MKB interests.
Since the ZEN 07.07.2020 RNS announced a “Joint Venture Agreement for acquisition of a second oil production asset” with a “local oil and gas company” , this latest news regarding the MKB Fields does raise the, admittedly highly speculative possibility, of ZEN involvement. If it proves otherwise, and the MKB Concession is acquired by a rival, it will at least suggest that Bruno Itoua, the Minister of Hydrocarbons, is carrying out his threat to strip Maixent Ominga, the CEO of SNPC, of his control of the MKB Fields, and simultaneously and consequently likewise for Tilapia. AC's recent reference to “the potential near-term award of the Tilapia II licence” [RNS 26.01.2022] might then assume a more significant meaning.
AGEOS

FV: I suspect you hit something there, one way or another.....AGEOS

Yes Fakevenues, and we can only hope the impact is a positive one.

With Congo [Brazzaville] ranked 162 out of 180 on the Transparency org World Corruption Index it is not impossible that the individual, self-styled as the “Director General of Trident OGX Energy Afrique” on a well known website for four months during 2021, might end up as a proxy in control of MKB. Orion Oil paid $150m for a 20% interest in MKB in 2013 on the basis of 1.3 billion barrels of oil reserves so the political elite will have their eyes on this one.

If AC can bring Tilapia intact into the ZEN fold it will have been a considerable accomplishment. To add even one of the MKB Fields at a similar cost would be masterly.