Total made a £71 million cash offer to buy the company last month. Wessex subsequently snubbed the offer, following shareholder consultation, saying the 10p a share offer undervalues the company.

This morning Wessex said that Total has decided not to proceed further with an offer to buy the company. 

The company says it is fully funded for all its current requirements including participation in a Zaedyus appraisal well in addition to a second well, to explore the potential new hydrocarbon frontier which was established with the initial discovery.

Total is one of three major oil companies partnered in the Guyane venture that made the large Zaedyus oil discovery last year.

The other partners are Tullow Oil (LON:TLW) and Shell (LON:RDSB). Total is the largest stakeholder with a 45 per cent interest.

Wessex owns a 1.25 per cent interest in the venture, alongside Northern Petroleum (LON:NOP) which also has a 1.25 per cent stake.

It is expected that drilling will start on the next Zaedyus well in mid-2012. Shell, the project operator, has already hired the Stena DrillMax ICE drill-ship for the drilling programme.

Total’s offer to buy Wessex came just days before the French firm had to evacuate the Elgin platform in the North Sea due to a gas leak.  It is currently thought that Total could stop the leak by the end of the month.

Wessex Exploration (LON:WSX) today revealed that a seismic exploration programme has successfully been completed on the PEDL239 licence in southern England.

The seismic programme focussed on the Razorback prospect on the Isle of Wight. It was completed on budget and without any issues, it said.

Wessex said it has excellent data quality and it was a significant improvement over previous surveys.

The data processing is expected to take three weeks to complete.

Subsequently, it is planned for the new seismic to be combined with the existing seismic and mapping data of the Razorback prospect.

This should provide sufficient detail to confidently demonstrate the prospects structural integrity, the company said.

Razorback is located in a central position on the Isle of Wight and it is relatively close to the Wytch Farm oil field, which was sold by BP as part of a US$610 million deal with Perenco last year.

The prospect has two targets. The primary target is a Triassic Sherwood Sandstone reservoir and the second is a Jurrassic Oolite reservoir.

Overall Razorback is estimated to contain 43 million barrels of oil in place.

Wessex has a 25 per cent stake in the Razorback project. The venture is operated by Mirrabooka, a subsidiary of Norwest Energy, which owns the remaining 75 per cent.

Wessex Exploration (LON:WSX) said the key to progress this year is bringing one of its leads in southern England to “drillable status”.

The group owns a number of petroleum exploration and development licences around the Bournemouth and Poole area (both onshore and offshore), close to the prolific Wytch Farm field.

Last year was all about the progress of a much larger proposition where Wessex holds a far smaller stake.

The 85 per cent rise in the firm’s share price in the last year has been fuelled by success off the coast of Guayne, where it owns a 1.25 per cent stake in one of the most exciting oil exploration blocks in world.

Its partners include Shell, Total and Tullow, and results from the first well Zaeyus, were hugely encouraging.

So much so that Wessex was able to raise £12 million to fund its slug of future exploration costs.

“The net proceeds of the placing will primarily be used to ensure the company is able to maintain its percentage share in the upside potential of the project as further drilling and other work is undertaken,” said chairman David Bramhill in a statement accompanying the company’s interim results.

The figures revealed the group is well-funded with £11.9 million in the bank as at December 31.

In the six month period the group posted a loss of £556,871, which is largely irrelevant for a company at this stage in its development.

Wessex also holds a 70 per cent stake in a project on the island of Juan de Nova, which lies in the Mozambique Channel and is an overseas territory of France.

Wessex Exploration (LON:WSX) told investors that a 2D seismic survey is currently underway on the Isle of Wight.

The programme will assess the Razorback prospect which is near the large Wytch Farm oil field. 

Razorback is currently estimated to contain 43 million barrels of oil in place.

Wessex has a 25 per cent stake in the venture. The operator Norwest Energy owns the other 75 per cent.

“The identification of the Razorback prospect is the culmination of over 3 years of extensive technical work mapping the migration pathways, reservoir distribution, seal quality and structural history of PEDL 239 and surrounding regions,” Norwest said in a statement.

“Razorback appears to be favorably located, however the prospect is defined by a coarse 2D seismic grid. The current survey will infill this coarse grid and should provide sufficient detail to confidently demonstrate the prospects structural integrity.”

Norwest explains that seismic recording parameters were tested and optimised before the survey began, and it believes that the new survey could show a significant improvement in the quality of seismic data.

The partners have a large footprint in the Wessex Basin both onshore and offshore Southern England. Norwest says Razorback is its highest ranked prospect.

Razorback’s primary target is the Triassic Sherwood Sandstone and the secondary target is the Jurassic Oolite reservoir. 

A comprehensive follow-up exploration programme will be carried out on the potentially world class oil basin off the coast of French Guiana, Tullow Oil (LON:TLW) revealed today.

Tullow was the operator of the Guyane Maritime Block but is handing that responsibility over to partner Shell (LON:RDSA).

However Tullow was instrumental in establishing the block as an extension of Ghana’s Jubilee field on the other side of the Atlantic following the drilling of the Zaedyus exploration well.

Highly encouraging results from Zaedyus revealed in September were followed up with what Tullow described as “extensive data gathering”. 

The well, which has been suspended for future re-entry, was sidetracked in order to cut a core. A liner was also run over the main oil-bearing reservoir.

“Core studies are currently underway and the initial phase will be completed in early-2012,” Tullow said in a statement today.

The partners on the Guyane block, including French giant Total and AIM-listed Wessex Energy (LON:WSX) and Northern Petroleum (LON:NOP), are discussing a comprehensive follow-up exploration and appraisal programme, it added. 

This will include 3D seismic acquisition and a drilling programme, scheduled to commence in mid-2012.

Last month Wessex raised £12 million, a good proportion of which will be used to finance this year’s exploration commitment.

Wessex and Northern own a combined 2.5 per cent of this potentially major new oil area.

Shell (LON:RDSA) will take over operatorship of the Guyane Maritime Block from Tullow Oil (LON:TLW), setting the scene for a busy year, it was revealed this morning.

Explorer Tullow has been instrumental in proving up the play off the coast of French Guiana. 

The Zaedyus exploration well sunk by the company discovered 72 metres of net pay oil in two turbidite fans.

It effectively proved that Tullow’s Jubilee play extends from West Africa across the Atlantic to this new basin.

Zaedyus is currently being side-tracked to recover reservoir cores, a process that will be completed later this month.

The plan next year is to shoot a 3D seismic survey as well as sinking two wells.

Shell owns 40 per cent of the block with Tullow and French giant Total owning 27.5 per cent and 25 per cent respectively.

The remaining minority is jointly held by Northern Petroleum (LON:NOP) and Wessex Exploration (LON:WSX).

Wessex managing director Frederik Dekker said today: "Wessex is very pleased to be associated with the Zaedyus discovery announced in September.  

"Next year and 2013 will be a busy period for the partnership and we look forward to playing a full part in the future work programme and sharing in the resulting success."

The agreement with the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) gives the partners acess to the Imlili block, which spans a 16,965 square kilometre offshore area.

“The award of the Imlili Block gives Wessex and Tower control over a broad swathe of prospective acreage in Western Sahara, encompassing the entire continental margin from the outcrop in the east to the deep water in the west,” the company said.

The Imlili block has been the subject of limited exploration in the past. In the 1960s a number of exploration wells had oil shows in reservoir quality sandstones, Wessex explained.

According to the company, the current geologic data available suggests the presence of all of the components necessary for a working petroleum system.

The SADR is a democratically elected government of the territory, which is recognised by the United Nations as a non-self governing territory, currently occupied by Morocco.

At the moment only limited exploration activity will be possible until the political situation surrounding Western Sahara is resolved, Wessex said. 

So the company plans to evaluate the prospectivity of this acreage using legacy seismic and exploratory well data, which it company already owns.  

Wessex will pay a nominal annual administrative fee to the SADR to retain the Imlili block until the sovereignty of the territory has been settled.

Wessex Exploration (LON:WSX) said this morning it has received two firm farm-in proposals for its Juan de Nova permit in Mozambique.

Wessex holds 70 per cent of the 9,100 square kilometre area, which is thought to contain two, or possibly even three hydrocarbon systems. The remaining 30 per cent is owned by Global Petroleum.   

“The terms of this permit require substantial investment by Wessex Exploration and a farm-out campaign, commissioned by Wessex Exploration and managed by ENVOI - a company offering specialist marketing and advisory services to the oil and gas industry - is showing promise,” said Wessex chairman David Bramhill.  

"Two firm proposals have been received and management is considering these offers which will assist in our commitment to fulfilling the future work obligations in return for an equity interest in the project."

Bramhill’s comments were made as the company reported its annual results – the first since listing on AIM in March.

They reveal the company has £2.5 million in cash, and that it posted a £1.33 million loss.

By far the most valuable asset in the company’s portfolio is the 1.25 per cent stake in the Zaedyus prospect in the deep waters off Guyane. The operator is Tullow, while Shell and Total each has a significant stake.

Recent drill results underline the importance of the field, which has been proven to be a mirror image of Ghana’s Jubilee field on the other side of the Atlantic.

“The Zaedyus discovery substantially de-risks the existing prospect inventory and Wessex Exploration has high expectations of the future of this major project which according to Tullow ‘marks the start of a significant and potentially transformational long term exploration and appraisal campaign’,” Bramhill said.

He added: “Given the experience at Jubilee, it is our view that the Zaedyus prospect is likely to ultimately be larger than Tullow’s previously indicated (P10 estimate) of 700 million barrels suggests.”

Even without drilling another well the analyst reckons Tullow could increase its resource estimates for the discovery. And this would in turn make the Wessex interest more valuable.

“Our $60m assessment of the Guyane assets is, in our view, the base case as it cannot capture, at this juncture, the possible fruits of the re-interpretation program that will likely follow completion of Zaedyus,” Elder adds.

“This valuation also does not include value from other Wessex assets including Wytch Farm and the Mozambique Channel.”

The exploration well encountered 72 metres of net oil pay in two turbidite fans, Tullow revealed. The company said that it has found good quality reservoir sands that are ‘on prognosis’ with pre-drill expectations – based on results of drilling, wireline logs and samples.

With this well Tullow aimed to replicate the success of the Jubilee discovery in Ghana, but this time off the coast of South America. 

The Zaedyus target is said to ‘mirror’ the large Jubilee oilfield, which came on stream last year. "The discovery at Zaedyus has proved the extension of the Jubilee-play across the Atlantic and made an important new discovery in French Guiana,” said Tullow’s exploration director Angus McCross.

According to Tullow, Zaedyus opens up a whole new hydrocarbon basin, in which it has already mapped several neighbouring prospects, and the result reduces the exploration risk associated with Tullow's prospect inventory offshore French Guiana, Suriname and Guyana.

An appraisal programme and extensive follow-up exploration activities will now be considered.

Meanwhile drilling will continue on the Zaedyus well. The deep-water well, which is in water depths of around 2,000 metres, has currently been drilled to a depth of 5,711 metres. It will now be deepened, to over 6,000 metres, so that Tullow can calibrate the deeper geology and it is likely to be sidetracked so that cores can be obtained over the reservoir sections.

Wessex Exploration (LON:WSX) says it expects results from its hotly anticipated Zaedyus exploration well in French Guiana will be revealed next month.

The AIM oil firms Wessex and Northern Petroleum (LON:NOP) each have a 1.25 per cent stake in the prospect, which is primarily being explored by a group of majors. The well is operated by Tullow Oil (LON:TLW) with a 27.5 per cent stake, while Shell (LON:RDSB) and Total (EPA:FP) own 45 and 25 per cent respectively.

The well, which was spudded in March, is targeting a late cretaceous play, which has been compared to the large Jubilee oilfield that Tullow recently brought into production offshore Ghana.

In a stock exchange statement, Wessex highlighted comments made by Tullow in its interims results which were published this morning.

“Delays have occurred during the drilling of this deepwater wildcat well for a number of reasons; in particular, issues have arisen from drilling in a new basin with little or no comparative data,” Tullow said. “The rig also had to handle periods of increased ocean currents and some hole instability. The final section of the well is now being drilled and results are expected in September.”

Wessex confirmed that it has adequate funds to meet its financial obligations for the drilling of the Zaedyus well.

The micro-cap oil explorer is led by David Bramhill and it owns oil exploration assets in the South of England, adjacent to BP’s (LON:BP) Wytch Farm oil field in Poole Harbour, and it is working to understand the petroleum system in this area.

But it also has a rare opportunity to participate in a deep-water exploration programme that is being led by major international oil firms, of the coast of South America. 

The project offshore Guyane (French Guiana) is operated by Tullow Oil (LON:TLW) who has a 27.5 percent interest, while Shell (LON:RDSB) and Total (NYSE:TOT) have 45 and 25 percent respectively. 

Wessex Exploration and Northern Petroleum (LON:NOP) have 1.25 percent each sharing a 2.5 percent stake.

While on the face of it this is a small stake, for both juniors the potential scale of a discovery would be quite significant indeed. Drilling is currently underway on the Zaedyus exploration prospect, a 700 million barrel target.

Earlier this month Tullow said that Zaedyus has the potential to open up a major new oil province in Guyane. The FTSE100 oil firm said that a significant number of further prospects and leads have already identified. Tullow also draws a comparison to its own Jubilee field in Ghana, where it brought the country’s first oil to production in 2010.

It also has projects in Juan de Nova – an atoll in the Mozambique Channel - and in Western Sahara.

Wessex Exploration (LON:WX.P) plans to raise £3 million alongside its admission to AIM.

The micro-cap oil explorer is set to join the AIM market on 23 March. It will issue 100 million new shares at 3 pence. The placing is conditional upon the AIM listing.

Previously Wessex raised £1.875 million in an oversubscribed placing back in November.

The company owns oil exploration assets in the South of England, adjacent to BP’s (LON:BP) Wytch Farm oil field in Poole Harbour, and it is working to understand the petroleum system in this area.

But it also has a rare opportunity to participate in a deep-water exploration programme that is being led by major international oil firms, of the coast of South America. The project offshore Guyane (French Guiana) is operated by Tullow Oil (LON:TLW) who has a 27.5 percent interest, while Shell (LON:RDSB) and Total (NYSE:TOT) have 45 and 25 percent respectively. 

Wessex Exploration and Northern Petroleum (LON:NOP) have 1.25 percent each sharing a 2.5 percent stake.

While on the face of it this is a small stake, for both juniors the potential scale of a discovery would be quite significant indeed. Drilling is currently underway on the Zaedyus exploration prospect, a 700 million barrel target.

Earlier this month Tullow said that Zaedyus has the potential to open up a major new oil province in Guyane. The FTSE100 oil firm said that a significant number of further prospects and leads have already identified. Tullow also draws a comparison to its own Jubilee field in Ghana, where it brought the country’s first oil to production in 2010.

The listing on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange is planned for the near future.

The funds will also cover the costs of exploratory drilling off-shore French Guiana and further exploration on-shore southern England.

Wessex agreed to make a placing and open offer to subscribe for 75 million new shares at 2.5 pence per share in October, when the fundraising was announced.

“We are delighted that support for this fundraising has been so strong. The funds raised will allow us to maintain our stake in the highly prospective projects that we hold,” said non-executive chairman of Wessex Exploration David Bramhill.

Earlier this month, Wessex Exploration got a boost from Tullow Oil’s (LON:TLW) assessment of the high-potential deep water Guyane Maritime license in French Guiana, which is operated by the FTSE 100 oil and gas group.

Two of the prospects identified to date, Zaedyus and Matamata, have a combined estimated 1.7 billion barrels of oil.

Tullow drew comparisons between the French Guiana license area and its "company changing" Jubilee oilfield, which is due to come on-stream next month.

Jubilee will come on-stream in December to produce 58,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Production will then ramp up to around 120,000 barrels per day over three to six months.

Wessex has a 1.25 percent interest in the French Guiana project, which is being explored by a group of major oil companies - Shell (LON:RDSB), Total SA (NYSE:TOT) and Tullow.

In southern England, Wessex has identified several structural leads, which it believes are capable of containing "‘significant amounts of hydrocarbons".

The company’s assets are adjacent to BP’s (LON:BP) Wytch Farm oil field, Poole Harbour, and it is working to understand the petroleum system in this area.

A year ago, broker Westhouse Securities issued a “buy” recommendation for the stock, saying the shares offered “excellent high risk upside” mainly due to the exposure to a French Guiana licence.

Wessex has a 1.25 percent interest in the project, which is being explored by a group of major oil companies - Shell (LON:RDSB), Tullow Oil (LON:TLW) and Total SA (NYSE:TOT).

Tullow drew comparisons between the French Guiana license area and its ‘company changing’ Jubilee oilfield, which is due to come on-stream next month.

"In French Guiana interpretation of the newly acquired 3D data set continues with the maturation of several Jubilee type prospects,” Tullow stated.

"The first and most exciting of which, Zaedyus, will be drilled in Q1 2011.”

Tullow’s costs for the 3D seismic and the Zaedyus well are being carried by Shell and Total, who both optioned into the project recently.

Wessex said it will continue to monitor the Guyane Maritime block and it plans to maintain its interest at the present level.

Tullow’s comments are from this morning’s comprehensive interim management statement, in which it highlighted that the Jubilee will come on-stream in December to produce 58,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day - the top end of expectations.

“First oil production from the Jubilee field is expected early next month and will transform Group production next year.”

Jubilee’s production will ramp up to around 120,000 barrels per day over three to six months.

The exploration work in French Guyane forms part of Tullow’s major ‘basin-opening’ exploration campaign, which is currently underway across five countries in Africa and South America.