Deepwater Petroleum Exploration and Production in the Gulf of Guinea: Comparative Analysis of Petroleum Fiscal Systems Performance

Deepwater Petroleum Exploration and Production in the Gulf of Guinea: Comparative Analysis of Petroleum Fiscal Systems Performance.

ABSTRACT  

Petroleum Fiscal System (PFS) is a major determinant of investment decision in the exploration and production of oil and gas in any country. It basically describes the profitability relationship between the host government of the producing community and the International Oil Companies (IOCs). The comparative analysis of the performance of the fiscal regimes becomes imperative as it affects the interest of the investor and the production of oil and gas. During the formulation of any fiscal regime a premium is placed on its outcome.

In this study, Petroleum Fiscal System (PFS) deepwater economic model is developed for the Gulf of Guinea. The approach incorporates a dynamic multipurpose input data page that automatically considers fiscal laws, taxation and stochastic analysis. Monte Carlo simulation using @risk software is used to account for risk and uncertainties in decision making. This study addresses the industry structure, conduct and performance of fiscal regimes of countries in the Gulf of Guinea.

Comparison of the effects of production delay, front ended government take, front loading index, and taxation show that the Gulf of Guinea is internationally competitive in all ramifications. A wide range of profitability indicators were used in the economic evaluation decision of this work such as Government Take (GTake), Contractor Take (CTake), Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), Profitability Index (PI), Savings Index (SI), Return on Investment (ROI), Payout Time (POT), Effective Royalty Rate (ERR), Growth Rate of Return (GRR), Discounted Net Cash Flow (DNCF), Front Loading Index (FLI).

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INTRODUCTION  

Deepwater offshore exploration as much as it is a breakthrough in Petroleum Exploration and Production as it offers significant benefits over onshore production, still poses challenges to the oil and gas industry. The Gulf of Guinea (GOG) is an attractive place for investment in the oil and gas sector, opportunities abound for petroleum exploration and production. Exploration and production in deepwater offshore have been proven to produce more oil and gas, add to proven reserves and generate more income for such producing nations.

In the long run, production in deep waters will help the growing economies hence the demand for oil and gas globally. The analysis of fiscal regimes which is one of the determinants of investment decision in the exploration and production of oil and gas is imperative for the Gulf of Guinea as it affects the interest of the investor and the production of crude oil.

Several authors such as Temmy D. and Tumbur P. (2002), Costa Lima G.A. et al (2010) due to its significance, analyzed profitability of Fiscal regimes in the Asia Pacific countries and Brazil respectively, however, risk and uncertainties were not accounted for. The Gulf of Guinea is the arm of the Atlantic Ocean, western Africa, between Cape Palmas, at the south-eastern tip of Liberia, and Cape Lopez, Gabon. Among the many rivers that drain into the Gulf of Guinea are the Niger and the Volta.

The coastline on the gulf includes the Bight of Benin and the Bight of Bonny. The Niger River in particular deposited organic sediments out to sea over millions of years which became crude oil. This region is now regarded as one of the world’s top oil and gas exploration hotspots and most promising petroleum provinces (Microsoft Encarta, 2009). The countries of the Gulf of Guinea, an area in the West and Central Africa coast are made up of Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Liberia, Togo, Cameroon, Benin, Ivory Coast, Angola, Congo, Guinea, and the islands of Sao Tome and Principe.

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StudentsandScholarship Team.