Canadian Overseas Petroleum (LON:COPL, CVE:XOP), the offshore West Africa focused oiler, said Richard Schmitt had resigned from the board as director with effect from October 31.
Last month the firm confirmed that its joint venture with Shoreline Energy was set to acquire near-term production assets in Nigeria.
The firm has been working with Shoreline to diversify its portfolio and together they are focusing on opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa.
It said today, in a statement, that significant progress had been made in recent months. Notably representatives of both COPL and Shoreline visited Nigeria last week to meet with government agencies seeking approval for the deal to close.