PetroNor E&P has completed the farmout of its interest in blocks offshore Guinea Bissau to Apus Energy, with Apus Energy paying $23 million to PetroNor towards past licence costs and long lead items ahead of the drilling of the Atum-1 prospect in 2024. The agreement between PetroNor and Apus was announced in July 2023 and the government of Guinea Bissau approved the transfer of the the Sinapa (Block 2) and Esperança (Blocks 4A and 5A) licence interests to Apus during October 2023. Apus Energy is expected to drill an exploration well to test the Atum-1 prospect on the Sinapa licence late in the second quarter of early in the third quarter of 2024. AGR will provide well management services for the well, which is understood to be drilled with Diamond Offshore 12,000-ft drillship Ocean BlackRhino. In case of a successful well, PetroNor stands to receive two contingent earn-out payments of $30 million each, contingent upon government approval of a field development plan and sustained production. 

KeyFacts Energy: PetroNor Republic of the Congo country profile   l   KeyFacts Energy: Farm-in agreements