Amerada Hess on 11 January announced a $4bn capital and exploratory expenditure program for 2006 that allocates $366mn for re-entry to Libya’s Waha concession and $413mn for the acquisition of assets in Egypt from Apache Corporation. As a partner in the Oasis Group with ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil, Amerada Hess announced on 29 December that the group had reached agreement with the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC) on its return to oil and gas operations in the Waha concession that it was forced to abandon in 1986 as a result of sanctions imposed by the then US President Ronald Reagan (MEES, 2/9 January and 19 December 2005). The $413mn acquisition in Egypt refers to Amerada Hess’s purchase of Apache Corporation’s 55% stake in the West Mediterranean deepwater concession (West Mediterranean Block 1). The deepwater section of the block covers a 2,370 sq km area and contains the Abu Sir, El-King, El-Max and Al-Bahig gas discoveries (MEES, 24 October 2005).
Amerada Hess said excluding acquisitions, $3.1bn would be targeted for exploration and production and about $125mn would go towards marketing and refining. The 2006 program allocates $1.4bn for field developments, which includes the Gassi El-Agreb oilfield redevelopment project in Algeria. Most of the company’s budget for exploration and exploitation will be directed to the Gulf of Mexico, but also cover its projects in Equatorial Guinea, Malaysia and Thailand, and Indonesia.
