Atlas Petroleum International Limited and development partners have announced the development of the Venus discovery in Block P, Equatorial Guinea. Block P has Vaalco as Operator, and Guinea Ecuatorial de Petroleós Co. (GEPetrol) as the state-owned oil company of Equatorial Guinea, representing the interests of the state.

This positive result follows the 8 March 2023 Plan of Development (POD) approval from the Government of Equatorial Guinea. First oil is expected in 2026.

The joint venturers expect to spud the first development well in early 2024, acquire, convert, and install production infrastructure over the next 3 years, and spud an additional development and a water injection well in 2025-26. Venus field activities are expected to add 23.1 million bbl of oil of 2P gross reserves. Based on results from the initial discovery well and reservoir modeling, the partners expect production from the field to reach about 15,000 gross b/d of oil upon completion of the two development wells and injector well.


“We are pleased that the development of the Venus discovery can now swiftly proceed, thanks to the Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons being a true enabler of investment in the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Vaalco’s sound technical expertise to develop and monetize the asset, as well as GEPetrol’s crucial role as stewards of the Equatoguinean hydrocarbons sector,” Prince Arthur Eze, Executive Chairman of Atlas Petroleum, said.

“This POD approval and development is first and foremost a success story for the people of Equatorial Guinea,” Mr. Eze added.

Block P @ a Glance

Block P consists of the Venus Production and Development Area and the Block P Exploration area. A plan of development to begin a drilling campaign on the Venus PDA is in progress.

Block P covers an area of 1,253 square kilometers in the Rio Muni basin, in close proximity to Equatorial Guinea’s mainland. The Venus discovery was made in 2005 by Devon Energy. The PDA also contains a number of exploration prospects, chiefly the SW Grande Prospect and the Marte Prospect, each of which has the potential to substantially add to the area’s reserves.

 GEPetrol purchased Devon’s Equatoguinean assets in 2008 and became operator of Block P. In November 2012, block partner Petronas Carigali sold its 31 percent share in Block P to Vaalco Energy. Vaalco is in the process of being approved as technical operator and preparing a plan of development for the Venus PDA. The POD will have a minimum of two-well exploration campaign. Drilling targets will be the SW Grande and Marte prospects.

VAALCO is the operator (60%) of Block P, Atlas holds a 20% participating interest, and GEPetrol has a 20% carried interest. The POD for the discovery was submitted in early March 2023 and swiftly approved by the Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons of Equatorial Guinea.

Located approximately 50 km to the south of Block P are the Hess operated Ceiba and Okume fields. The sand reservoirs in the Venus Field in Block P have been identified and verified as the same type as these other Rio Muni discoveries. These fields have proven reserves of around 500 million barrels of oil. The reserves of the Venus field are estimated to contain between 15 and 30 million gross recoverable barrels of oil