African deep-water makes progress

Drillers began to renew their interest in African projects that were once deemed too costly and risky

Africa's deep-water offshore sector drew increasing interest from drillers in 2018, as projects once deemed too costly and risky began to figure more prominently in corporate investment plans. This confidence was boosted by the increasing availability of relatively low-cost floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) and floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facilities—as well as by the industry's successful efforts to cut operating costs during the recent downturn. Both Nigeria and Angola, Africa's largest oil producers, registered progress in revitalising the hydrocarbons sector after several lean years. Shell announced in July 2018 that it hoped to begin talks with Nigeria on a fra