Coastal Africa Group, a newly incorporated company focused on oil and gas acquisitions across West Africa, has announced its intention to float on AIM in early June.
The company will list as an investing vehicle with a mandate to make an initial acquisition within 18 months, after which it will become an operating company.
Coastal's strategy centres on acquiring upstream assets and minority stakes in Nigeria and Angola, combined with integrated infrastructure and evacuation solutions designed to reduce break-even costs and third-party risk.
The approach draws directly on the playbook deployed by chief executive Conrad Clauson in Southeast Asia, where he was an early investor in Coastal Energy, a shallow-water oil and gas operator in Thailand.
Spanish oil major Cepsa acquired Coastal Energy in January 2014 for an enterprise value of approximately C$2.3 billion, delivering roughly a six-times return on invested equity.
Clauson said the company sees a compelling opportunity to replicate the upstream, marine and evacuation interplay in the development of proven shallow-water reserves across West Africa.
The management team includes former personnel from Addax Petroleum and Helios Investment Partners, bringing direct transaction and operational experience in Nigerian upstream assets.
Nigeria holds the largest proven reserves of natural gas in Africa and the second largest proved reserves of oil, with the government targeting a doubling of production to approximately 3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2030.
Angola has the second-highest crude oil exports of any African nation, with oil and gas accounting for approximately 99% of all exports.
Both countries have introduced fiscal and regulatory reforms aimed at attracting fresh investment, including Nigeria's Petroleum Industry Act 2021.
The board comprises two non-executive and three executive directors, led by non-executive chairman Peter Kimpel.