West African upstream projects progress and Trion Subsea awards imminent A cluster of upstream projects off West Africa are making progress towards FID this year according to news sources, with a key hurdle related to tax incentives overcome this week on TotalEnergies'' Cameia-Golfinho project off Angola, acceptance of the revised Pecan field development plan by Ghanaian authorities and the emergence of frontrunners on Shell''s Bonga North tie-back project off Nigeria. Meanwhile, key awards for the production and offloading facilities for Woodside''s recently approved Trion ultra-deepwater development offshore Mexico have been made, with significant subsea equipment and installation tender processes nearing completion. Elsewhere, technical offers have been submitted for the UAE''s Upper Zakum expansion project, with Petrofac seen as a strong contender, with technical and commercial offers also submitted for the second phase of Aramco''s major Jafurah unconventional gas development. Rio Grande LNG FID imminent and MPL''s Saguaro Energia LNG project secures additional offtake agreement With binding financing commitments secured and 92% of Phase 1 capacity of 17.6mtpa committed, FID on NextDecade''s Rio Grande LNG project is expected within days, with Baker Hughes yesterday announcing a major contract to supply the main refrigerant compressors. Mexico Pacific this week announced a 20-year SPA with China''s Zheijang Energy from its 14.1mtpa Saguaro Energia LNG facility, with 80% of the Phase 1 development (9.4mtpa) having been secured, paving the way toward FID in 2023. We count 36mtpa of approved capacity additions YTD, already more than the 32mtpa sanctioned last year. Chart of the week Baker Hughes released the international rig count earlier today, which showed gains of 2 rigs m/m to 967 overall. Overall, international drilling activity is up 17% y/y though remains 8% below pre-Covid levels (Jan ''18 - March ''20 avg). With a typical oil price lag of 9...