Upland Resources (LSE:UPL) shares started Friday up some 24% after the explorer told investors it had opened a collaboration with the national oil company in Brunei, with talks taking place this week regarding the company’s Sarawak block, which is in Malaysia.
In a statement, Upland noted that the talks centred on the prospectivity in the area along with development and cross-border data sharing regarding discoveries in Brunei.
Specifically, Upland highlighted that Sarawak has a number of areas of interest that are analogous to the geology as Brunei's nearby Belait formation, which is host to a number of proven oil and gas discoveries and oilfields.
"We look forward to developing this relationship in Brunei further, Block SK334 in Sarawak offers transformational potential, sedimentary basins in Sarawak and Brunei are proven prolific hydrocarbon bearing basins,” said Upland chief executive Bolhassan Di.
“We are steadily building momentum into the next stage of development, final technical workshops and assessment of prospective resources.”
Upland added that talks will continue with the Petroleum Authority of Brunei Darussalam and Brunei Energy Services and Trading in due course.
In London, Upland shares traded up around 6% after half and hour of deals changing hands at 0.51p – having peaked initial up to 0.59p – valuing the micro-cap explorer at just under £6.5 million.