Shares in Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd (AIM:ECO, TSX-V:EOG) were up 7% in early trading after striking a deal that cancels shares and warrants owned by Africa Oil worth an estimated C$11.5 million.
Eco is exchanging a 1% stake in Block 3B/4B in the Orange Basin offshore South Africa to complete the transaction, reducing its holding to 5.25%.
"We thank Africa Oil for their support since 2017 as it enabled Eco to enter new and exciting hydrocarbon territories and conduct exploration campaigns. We look forward to continuing our working relationship as JV Partners on Block 3B/4B," said CEO Gil Holzman.
"I'm grateful to my team for reaching this excellent deal, which substantially reduces our share count to the benefit of our investors, whilst retaining exposure to all of our existing assets."
In Guyana, the oil exploration group is working on finding partners for its Orinduik Block project. The company now fully controls this process and is optimistic about the area due to recent developments by ExxonMobil nearby.
In Namibia, Eco is seeking partners for its four exploration licenses in the Walvis Basin, where it holds an 85% interest. The company recently acquired additional seismic data to help identify new drilling opportunities.
Overall, this agreement and the ongoing projects in Guyana and Namibia reflect Eco's strategy to advance its oil and gas exploration activities while creating value for its shareholders.
"We continue our focus on conducting exploration campaigns in global hydrocarbon hotspots, such as the Orange basin in South Africa, the Walvis basin in Namibia, and in Guyana, the team is extremely busy working with new licensed data in Namibia, defining additional seismic acquisition areas and leads, and on active farm out processes in both Guyana and Namibia," said CEO Holzman.
"We look forward to providing further updates to our shareholders over the rest of 2024."
In early trading, the stock was up 1.05p at 12.25p.
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