By Ed Stoddard
CAPE TOWN, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Ophir Energy can goahead with its Fortuna floating liquefied natural gas projectoff Equatorial Guinea with or without new partners because thecost estimates have halved to around $450 million, a seniorexecutive said on Tuesday.
"The capital costs have come down to such a huge degree. Thecapital is about 50 percent from what we expected a couple ofyears ago," Oliver Quinn, Ophir's director of new business, toldReuters on the sidelines of the Africa Oil Week conference.
He said Ophir's equity limit was $150 million because thecompany did not want to overexpose its balance sheet to theproject and the government of Equatorial Guinea would put up to$90 million into the venture.
The remainder of the funding could come from a partner, debtor "loans to the project as part of the gas sales agreement,"Quinn said.
Oilfield services company Schlumberger walked awayfrom the deal in June. Ophir said in September it hadshort-listed four potential partners for the project, whichinvolves placing a ship with production facilities over anoffshore field.
But Quinn said the project - which still awaits a finalinvestment decision - could go ahead without partners becausedepressed oil and gas prices had forced service providers to cuttheir costs.
"It's the market cycle and the level of competition in theservices market. Cost estimates were different when the oilprice was higher," he said.
Lower costs have also prompted the company to pursue deepwater exportation well drilling projects again, with onescheduled offshore of Ivory Coast in 2017 - the company's firstin over two years.
"We are focused on regrowing our Africa portfolio. Drillingcosts are now extremely low so we are selectively takingadvantage of that," Quinn said. (Editing by Susan Fenton)
