November 16th–December 5th 2007
OIL/NATURAL GAS
Republic of Congo
Output is forecast to improve in
2008.
The Republic of Congo’s crude oil out-
put is forecast to rebound to 105m bar-
rels, in 2008 after a platform fire cut
production in 2007 by an estimated
10%. President Denis Sassou-Nguesso
said.
Mr Sassou-Nguesso said, in a state of
the nation address to both houses of
parliament, that 2007 crude oil produc-
tion would fall to 87m barrels in 2007
from 98m in 2006.
French oil major Total said in August
that production at its Nkossa field
would recover to 45,000 barrels per day
in the fourth quarter of 2007 after a
blaze halted production in May, and it
would resume full capacity during
2008.
The forecast output of 105m barrels in
2008 equates to roughly 288,000 barrels
a day on average – more than 20% up
on 2007’s 238,000 bpd production.
Congo ranks behind sub-Saharan Afri-
ca’s biggest oil producers Nigeria,
Angola, Equatorial Guinea and the 2007
reduced production also lags behind
neighbouring Gabon, which has fore-
cast 2007 production of around 270,000
bpd. (Reuters, Brazzaville, 29/10)
Equatorial Guinea
Production of liquefied natural gas
has resumed.
Marathon Oil has restarted production
at its new liquefied natural gas plant in
Equatorial Guinea after repairs to the
3.4m tonne a year plant were com-
pleted, a spokeswoman said on Novem-
ber 19th.
Marathon officials said in mid-October
that production from the $1.5bn plant,
on the northwest side of Bioko Island,
had been shut down.
Marathon made the first gas shipment
in May under a 17-year deal with BG
Gas Marketing LTD (BG) to supply it
with all the production from the plant’s
first production train.
BG has LNG facilities in the United
States and is part of a consortium
building a plant in Britain. Marathon
said the outage was common for a
facility ramping up to full production.
Marathon owns a 60% stake in the
West African country’s first lique-
faction unit, with 25% owned by
national gas company Sonagas and the
remainder in the hands of Japanese
investors.
A B
 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2007.
Africa Research Bulletin – 17645
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synergy.com
Equatorial Guinea aims to start work Sierra Leone was once a major pro-
soon on the construction of a second ducer of rutile, with the Sierra Rutile
production train to process gas from operation accounting for 30% of the
Nigeria and Cameroon. Officials say annual supply of the world’s natural
land to build the train has already been rutile (and 75% of Sierra Leone’s
purchased and a tender for the building exports). However, the site was overrun
work is expected to open soon. (Reuters, by rebels in early 1995 and considered
Malabu 19/11) too dangerous to continue mining.
After a decade of civil war, in 2001
peacekeeping efforts began to stabilise
RUTILE the country.
Sierra Leone
TRG, owned by mining entrepreneur
Production is set to double with Jean Raymond Boulle, has proven and
extra dredges commissioned. probable reserves at the Sierra Rutile
mine estimated at 259m tonnes at
Titanium Resources Group (TRG) has 1.48% recoverable rutile, with a pro-
commissioned a second dredge at the jected mine life of 19 years.
company’s Sierra Rutile mine in Sierra
Leone, which is expected to double In 2006 Titanium Resources produced
rutile production capacity to 200,000t/y. 73,802t of rutile and 13,819t of ilmenite
from the mine.
The dredge will begin commercial pro-
duction in December, operating at a In November, Reuters reported that
maximum throughput of 1,350t/h for Sierra Leone banned the export of min-
around 7,000h/y. erals samples in an attempt to stop
smuggling of diamonds and other valu-
TRG intends to boost production by a able commodities. According to Mo-
further 40,000t with the addition of a hamed Mansaray, director of Sierra
third dredge by mid-2008, said Len Leone’s geological survey, mining com-
Comerford, Titanium Resources’ chief panies export samples for assay because
executive. no facility exists in the country.
C