Investors in Canadian Overseas Petroleum Limited (LON:COPL) are on tenterhooks, looking forward to the start of drilling for a deep-water exploration well.
Exxon, COPL’s partner and the operator of the project, confirmed on Tuesday that the drill programme would start next month.
COPL shares gained 1.23p, 15.3%, to trade at 9.23p.
The exploration project in Liberia-13 Block, 50 miles offshore, is on trend with exploration successes in neighbouring countries such as Sierra Leone, Senegal, Cote D’Ivoire and Ghana.
The targeted area has been estimated to host between 1.78bn to 4.2bn of gross prospective recoverable oil resources, which would equate to between 305mln and 720mln barrels net for COPL’s interest in the project.
COPL’s 17% interest in the project is ‘carried’ by the American oil firm.