The ultimatum is a blow to Ophir, which has set aside significant capital to develop west Africa’s first deepwater LNG project, Fortuna, by 2022 despite its lack of a track record in LNG and small balance sheet.
The company has declined to comment at this time, however Gabriel Obiang Lima, minister of mines and hydrocarbons, has hinted that the government already has a clear replacement for Ophir in mind.
