African Petroleum has signed a new production sharing contract with Ophir Energy covering the company’s CI-513 licence area in Cote d’Ivoire.
The new contract means Ophir Energy has a 45% interest and is operator of the asset while African Petroleum holds a 45% interest and the regions National Oil company the remaining 10%.
Ophir Energy will make a $16.9million contribution towards African Petroleum’s back costs in relation to the block.
The agreement has resulted in an extension to the previous minimum work commitments on the block and now requires that an exploration well be drilled within two years of the signing of this new contract.
Jens Pace, chief executive of African Petroleum, said: “We are pleased to have signed this new PSC with Ophir Energy who bring a wealth of experience and technical expertise to Block CI-513 in Côte d’Ivoire.
“We look forward to working with Ophir Energy and Petroci to jointly explore the potential of this exciting block.
“Successful completion of this transaction has been the key priority for the management team and we believe this transaction endorses our acreage and importantly our strategy by highlighting that there remains an industry appetite for world class exploration of this type despite the prevailing industry headwinds.
“We now shift our focus to completion of further deals on our acreage in Senegal and the Gambia.”