Future partner I could see Shell or Chevron taking part in a farm-down for both Guyana and the Walvis basin in Namibia. It's wild that Total pulled out and then repartned in SA.
I like the relatively novel deal they secured in SA. The cash paid and the carry/loan does solve many issues Eco would cause/endure. The interesting part of the SA deal being done is that Total likely got a right to first refusal. This is the current Exxon-Chevron issue over Hess assets. While it's not a deal breaker it likely complicates the end game for Eco. Given the already complicated corporate structure of ECO (Azinam, former Tullow asset, former minority stake) They may need to clean things up a bit if they are ever to bought out.
If I've read things correctly they are due $9 million upon the SA deals closure. $5 mil from total and $4 mil from Africa Oil. This near term influx of cash should help significantly. I do wonder if they can secure a farm down that is better that the one they got from Tullow. Say they want to recoup past costs, plus match the Tullow future obligations while getting a carry they would be in a pretty darn good place.
id like to see them bundle Namibia and Guyana at this point, I also wouldn't mind a small Royalty added like Tullow swung on us or how Apache structured their deal in Suriname.
food for thought