Post #529

Nigerian Company Loses Asset in Equatorial Guinea 🌐 American oil giant Chevron has terminated its partnership with Nigerian companyAtlas Petroleum for the joint development of an offshore oil block in Equatorial Guinea, with Atlas’s 27.55% stake set to be transferred to the state-owned GEPetrol. ⏩ The Nigerians let Chevron down by delaying mandatory payments. The American company had been trying to ditch its Nigerian partner since at least September, but struggled to secure the support of Equatorial Guinea’s government, which had no intention of investing in the project after Atlas’s exit. ⏩ In the end, a solution acceptable to all was found: the Guinean government will receive Atlas’s stake for free, but Chevron will take an equivalent share of the state’s future gas sales revenue. Atlas Petroleum is owned by Nigerian businessman Arthur Eze, whose business empire is going through tough times—just recently, Atlas lost assets in Senegal as well. Meanwhile, Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea have plans to build a gas pipeline to Bioko Island, and its fate will soon reveal whether Atlas’s owner still has enough influence in Abuja to protect his projects. ⚠️ Not only for Arthur Eze, but for West Africa as a whole this is a troubling trend: nascent local companies may compete with international giants at home, but they still appear to be systematically blocked from expanding into neighboring countries. ➡️ Stay informed - @devilsbelow