Offshore East Africa: Deep Water Natural Gas Bonanza

Offshore reports the trend of continued success in locating gas in the deep waters off East Africa: Mozambique, Tanzania emerging as prolific deepwater gas plays. How big? Anadarko's Chairman says:

“This could be one of the most important natural gas fields discovered in the last ten years,with significant long-term benefits for Mozambique.”

Benefits? From the Offshore report:

Mozambique's government was anxious for work on the project to start, he said, both for the incoming tax revenue in the longer term and for the near-term impact on jobs creation in the area. At peak, he forecast that construction of the initial LNG plant would involve 7,000 workers, with more employment opportunities for the second train.

***

Following meetings with local villagers, fishermen and farmers, Anadarko has filed an application for land to build the onshore reception and process facilities. The port of Ofungi is the chosen site for the LNG plant. "The nearby city of Palma only just received electric power for the first time last year, so there is potential for this project to change the area significantly," Vardeman observed. "Also, an aircraft landing strip will be built of sufficient size to land a 747 at least." At the coastal location, materials offloading and LNG loading facilities will be constructed. The proposed beach front site is large enough to accommodate LNG carriers turning, he said, although when the tide goes out a large area of flat sand appears.

Assuming the final investment decision is taken toward the end of 2013, first gas could flow in 2018. But this is a very competitive market, Vardeman noted, "and we must convince buyers that this will be a reliable source of LNG. Also, this will be our first LNG plant, so they need to count on us to be there a long time." On the other hand, Vardeman explained, having Bharat Petroleum, Videocon, and Mitsui as partners was helpful for marketing the Area 1 gas to India and Japan. "It's an optimal location, close to India, and the distance to Japan is the same as to Europe," Vardeman said.

Oh, those horrible oil and gas companies, applying their technology in such a way as to benefit the poor of Africa.

LNG for Japan and Europe.

Another blow to the former gas monopolists in Russia.

Too bad the world is running out of energy . . . not.

Of course, there are those Somali pirates to deal with.



All illustrations credit Anadarko.

Somali Pirates: South Africa Joins the Game

Reported as South African Navy helps catch pirates:

“In the end, it seems clear that a loud message has gone out that SANDF forces, as part of SADC armed forces, will not allow illegal activities within SADC waters,” the Navy said in a statement. “It is also clear that the Tripartite agreement between South Africa, Mozambique and Tanzania, and the subsequent deployment of SADC forces to safeguard our sea lanes, is paying off dividends in ensuring the safety of our seafarers and their precious cargoes. To the sailors and air crew of the SAS Drakensberg, the operational planners of Chief of Joint Operations and all others involved; we salute your valiant efforts!”

A trilateral agreement was signed by South Africa, Mozambique and Tanzania in February this year, allowing the three countries the right to, among other things, patrol, search, arrest, seize and undertake hot pursuit operations on any maritime crime suspect. In accordance with the trilateral agreement, this allows the SA Navy to patrol as far as Tanzania.

UPDATE: An earlier report of Tanzania protecting its valuable gas fields and arresting pirates:

"The pirates arrested in Tanzania were in close communication with a mother ship that has seven more pirates. A Spanish vessel has managed to arrest the pirates on this mother ship and they are being brought to Tanzania today for custody."

Mgawe said the mother ship used by the pirates was formerly a Sri Lankan fishing vessel with six crew members on board.

"The Tanzanian navy has been conducting regular patrols to ensure Somali pirates do not enter our territorial waters from deep seas to carry out attacks," he said.

UPDATE2: EUNAVFOR report on the rescue of the crew of the pirated "mother ship" from here:

Happy Sri Lankan fishermen wave as they depart Spanish ship on Tanzanian patrol ship (EUNAVFOR photo)

On Wednesday 18 April, EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Spanish warship, ESPS Infanta Elena rescued 6 Sri Lankan fishermen and their fishing vessel from 7 suspected pirates. The fishing vessel had been in the hands of suspect pirates since November 2011 and was reportedly being used as a mother-ship to launch attacks against merchant shipping in the region.

At sunset on 18 April, 50 miles off the coast of Tanzania, ESPS Infanta Elena identified the pirated vessel and after closing its position, the Spanish boarding team went on board. Once there, they identified the 7 suspected Somali pirates and 6 Sri Lankan crew. The men received much needed medical care and were provided food and water. Earlier the same day, 5 suspect pirates had been arrested by Tanzanian maritime forces when their attack skiff, believed to have been operated from the Sri Lankan vessel, beached on the Tanzanian coast.

The tired, but very relieved Sri Lankan fishermen were handed over to Tanzanian maritime forces close to Dar Es Salaam on 21 April and the European Union, via its delegation in Tanzania helped to ensure that the crew could quickly make contact with their families. Arrangements are now being made to fly the fishermen home to Sri Lanka.

As there is currently no agreement on the transfer of suspect pirates between the European Union and Tanzania, the suspect pirates were released by ESPS Infanta Elena to the Somali coast on Monday 23 April. With the on-going negotiations with the Tanzanian authorities, it is hoped that a transfer agreement will be in place in the near future.

There is a slight disconnect on the fate of the pirates on the mother ship.

Somali Pirates: Pirate Weather Coming

As indicated in the Office of Naval Intelligence's Piracy Analysis and Warning Weekly, the weather in the Somali pirate areas of major activity is beginning to shift to that more favorable to small boat operations (better for the pirates), so an increase in pirate efforts can be expected through the Gulf of Aden, upper Arabian Sea and the Mozambique Channel:

The redder the color, the increased probability that the weather and sea conditions are good for pirate operations.

Worldwide Piracy to 13 Oct 11

From the file of the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence, weekly
Worldwide Threat to Shipping Report. A highlight of some areas around the globe:

G. (U) WEST AFRICA:
.
1. (U) NIGERIA: Product Tanker CAPE BIRD boarded and hijacked 08 October at 2040 UTC, near position 04:55N, 004:51E, approximately 90 nm south of Lagos, Nigeria. Recent reporting indicates that the ship has not yet been released. (IMB)
.
2. (U) BENIN: Chemical tanker fired upon, boarded, and robbed 2 October at 2337 LT while drifting in position 04:06N, 002:51E, approximately 136 nm southeast of Cotonou, Benin. Pirates armed with automatic weapons approached in two small boats and boarded the vessel. The crew retreated into the citadel and stayed there the whole night, when they emerged the
next day they found that the pirates had stolen ship cash. (IMB)
.
3. (U) GUINEA: Cargo ship (THOR LIGHT) boarded and robbed 29 September at 0505 UTC while anchored in position 09:24N, 013:43W, Conakry anchorage. Ten to twelve robbers armed with guns and knives boarded the vessel and assaulted the eleven crew members. Robbers stayed onboard for approximately 40 minutes, during which time they stole ship's and crew's cash and crew's personal belongings before escaping. Port authorities were contacted but received no response. (Open Source, IMB)
.
4. (U) TOGO: A chemical tanker experienced an attempted boarding on 24 September at 0130 UTC while anchored in position 06:01N, 001:15E at the Lome Anchorage. Two small boats approached shipside, the duty officer told them to move away, but was ignored. Later, two more boats approached the vessel from the stern and secured themselves to the ship's rudder. The master informed the Togo Navy, which responded and detained all four boats. Nothing was stolen from the vessel. (IMB)
.
5. (U) TOGO: Bulk carrier experienced an attempted boarding on 16 September at 0340 LT while anchored in position 06:03.7N, 001:17.5E at the Lome Anchorage. Seven robbers in a fast boat approached the vessel, one of the robbers had a hook attached to a rope. The duty crew spotted the robbers, contacted the bridge, and informed another watchman. Master
raised the alarm, sounded the shipís horn, and the crew directed search lights. The pirates aborted the attack upon seeing the alerted crew. The Togo Navy was contacted but did not respond; later, a naval boat patrolled the area. (IMB)
.
6. (U) BENIN: Product tanker (MATTHEOS I) hijacked on 14 September at 0121 UTC during ship-to-ship (STS) transfer operations approximately 62 nm southwest of Cotonou (see below incident). The vessel had 23 crew members, composed of Filipinos and Spanish, Peruvian, and Ukrainian officers. The pirates sailed the vessel to an unknown location. (IMB)
.
7. (U) BENIN: Product tanker boarded on 14 September at 0121 UTC during STS operations approximately 62 nm southwest of Cotonou. Master sent out an SSAS alert and the crew locked themselves into the engine room. The pirates later left the vessel, and when the crew left the engine room there were no pirates onboard. (IMB)

Somali Pirates: Ship Taken South of Somalia

MSC Panama by Bruce Sutherland

Reported as MV PANAMA pirated in the far South of the Somali Basin:

On the afternoon of 10 December, the MV PANAMA was pirated by 2 armed skiffs with a total of 5 pirates on board. A Rocket Propelled Grenade was used during the attack which occurred approximately 80 nautical miles east of the Tanzanian/Mozambique border.

This extreme Southerly attack in the Somali Basin is a further example of the constantly expanding area of pirate activity.

The MV PANAMA is a Liberian flagged container ship, operated by a US based company, with a crew of 23 (all from Myanmar). She was en route from Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) to Beira (Mozambique) when the attack occurred. There is no news of the condition of the crew and EUNAVFOR are monitoring the situation.

Ship photo from Shipspotting.com and used in accord with the terms of that site.

Somali Pirates: Coaster with passengers taken off Tanzania

A small coastal freighter/passenger ship has been taken by Somali pirates in the waters between the Comoros Islands and Tanzania, the EU confirms. The Comoros lie at the mouth of the Mozmbique Channel, south of Somalia. The Mozambique Channel lies between Madagascar and the African mainland.

Reported as MV ALY ZOULFECAR pirated in the Somali Basin:

The MV ALY ZOULFECAR, a Comorian-flagged vessel, was pirated on route between the Comores and Dar Es Salam (Tanzania).

The 43 meters long vessel was in transit from the Comoros to Dar Es Salam when it was attacked. On the morning of 3 November 2010, the Master of the MV ALY ZOULFECAR reported that pirates were on board.

The MV ALY ZOULFECAR has 29 people onboard, of which 9 are crewmembers and 20 passengers. The crew consists of 1 Tanzanian, 4 Comorian and 4 Madagascar. The passengers consist of 12 Tanzanian and 8 Comorian. This makes a total of 13 Tanzanian, 12 Comorian and 4 Malagasy on board the pirated vessel.

UPDATE: NATO report (here) a ship pirated at 05°15 S 043°39 E. See map below:

Adding to the Maritime Security Mix: First deepwater oil discovered off East Africa

Oil & Gas Journal reports "First deepwater oil discovered off East Africa" :

An exploratory well off Mozambique has penetrated 38 m of net oil and gas saturated sands in the upper of two Cretaceous fan lobes, signaling the first documented occurrence of liquids hydrocarbons in deep water off East Africa.

The Ironclad-1 well, operated by Anadarko Petroleum Corp. in Area 1 off Mozambique, is in the Rovuma basin 110 km south of the Windjammer dry gas discovery, drilled earlier in the same six-well exploratory program to 16,930 ft in 4,800 ft of water 30 miles off the coast ...

Map is from Anadarko, with my addition of a guesstimate as to the location of the Ironclad well site (yellow star). Click on them to enlarge images.

The Mozambique Channel is a chokepoint for shipping traffic off Africa. During WWII, the Japanese found it to be a "target-rich" environment as set out here:

Churchill telegraphed to Roosevelt: "A Japanese air, submarine, and/or cruiser base at Diego Suarez [on the northern tip of Madagascar, halfway between Cape Town and Colombo] would paralyse our whole convoy route both to the Middle East and to the Far East...."

Now, of course, there are pirates in the waters north of the entrance to the Channel. UPDATE: In November 2009, MV Delvina was captured at the northern end on the Mozambique Channel as shown on the nearby map. See here and here.

The map below shows the area with the red arrow pointing generally at the location of these wells.

Further, there are disputed territorial claims to areas that now may be worth a vigorous defense (see here):

At the northern entrances of the Mozambique Channel occur a number of islands, reefs and submarine banks. The largest land masses in this area are those of the Comoros Islands. With an area of 2,170 km² this volcanic group consists of 4 main islands: Ngazidja, Nzwani, Mwali, Mayotte and several smaller islets that lie off the main islands.

Farther in to the channel occur a trio of widely separated coral reefs and islands that form overseas possessions of France: Bassas da India, Juan de Nova and Île Europa. These islands are strategically important — their ownership is disputed between France and Madagascar. All are small, flat and uninhabited. The islets of Europa and Juan de Nova are important habitats for migrating landbirds and breeding seabirds.

Northwards, lying at the entrances in to the Channel, lie the French-owned Îles Glorieuses (Glorioso Islands) and the submerged reefs of Banc du Geyser and Banc du Leven (Banc du Zelee), both of which lie in international waters.

Could get to be an interesting area.

UPDATE: Info on the Rovuma Basin from the National Petroleum Institute of Mozambique (NIP) here.

Somali Pirates Grab Large Saudi Tanker

Reported here:

Pirates on Monday attacked and took control of the Saudi-owned very large crude carrier Sirius Star off the east coast of Africa, a spokesman for the US Navy 5th fleet said.

"The vessel is under the pirates' control," the spokesman told AFP following a statement saying that the tanker, which is owned by Saudi Aramco, came under attack more than 450 nautical miles southeast of Mombasa, Kenya.

The ship carried 25 crew members from Croatia, Britain, Philippines, Poland and Saudi Arabia, the statement added.

The 318,000-tonne vessel, launched earlier this year, is flagged in Liberia and operated by Vela International.

Photo is from the ship-naming ceremony last year.

UPDATE: According to this report, the ship was not bound through the Gulf of Aden but was headed around the Cape of Good Hope and was nabbed 450 miles off the coast of Kenya. These are somewhat remarkable developments, as is the capture of such a large vessel.

More details in a U.S. NavCent press release:

The very large crude tanker Sirius Star was attacked more than 450 nautical miles southeast of Mombasa, Kenya. The ship is flagged in Liberia, owned by the Saudi Arabian based Saudi Aramco, and operated by Vela International. The crew of 25 includes citizens of: Croatia, Great Britain, The Philippines, Poland, and Saudi Arabia.

This attack comes amid a decrease in the rate of successful pirate attacks on merchant vessels off the coast of Somalia. Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) data analysis has shown that the combination of both military and civilian involvement in the area has reduced the percentage of successful piracy attacks from 53% in August, to 31% in October.

“Our presence in the region is helping deter and disrupt criminal attacks off the Somali coast, but the situation with the Sirius Star clearly indicates the pirates’ ability to adapt their tactics and methods of attack” said Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, Commander, Combined Maritime Forces. “Piracy is an international crime that threatens global commerce. Shipping companies have to understand that naval forces can not be everywhere. Self protection measures are the best way to protect their vessels, their crews, and their cargo.”
***
As is evident with the attack on Sirius Star, increasingly daring attacks are being conducted by Somali pirates on a variety of merchant vessels. Tuesday, Nov. 11, a UK warship successfully thwarted a pirate attack on a Danish shipping vessel and boarded the pirate ship responsible. During the course of the boarding, the team engaged the pirates in self defense resulting in a number of fatalities. Such incidents highlight the complications associated with operating in this environment and the need for a permanent and effective land-based solution to the security situation in the region.

UPDATE: Route map for ship owner:


Rough area of attack is shaded pink - near the entrance to another sea chokepoint, the Mozambique Channel (click on images to enlarge):


UPDATE: Chairman, U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff "stunned" by new range of pirates, it says here:

The top US military officer said Monday he was "stunned" by the reach of the Somali pirates who seized a Saudi supertanker off the east coast of Africa, calling piracy a growing problem that needs to be addressed.

But Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said there were limits to what the world's navies could do once a ship has been captured because national governments often preferred to pay pirates ransom.

"I'm stunned by the range of it, less so than I am the size," Mullen said of the seizure of the Sirius Star Sunday by armed men.

The huge, oil laden prize, which is three times the size of a US aircraft carrier, was some 450 miles east of Kenya when it was boarded, he said.

That is the farthest out at sea that a ship has been seized in the latest surge of piracies, according to Mullen.

The pirates, he said, are "very good at what they do. They're very well armed. Tactically, they are very good."

"And so, once they get to a point where they can board, it becomes very difficult to get them off, because, clearly, now they hold hostages.

"The question then becomes, well, what do you do about the hostages? And that's where the standoff is.

"That's a national question to ask based on the flag of the vessel. And the countries by and large have been paying the ransom that the pirates have asked," he said.