Savannah Petroleum (LON:SVP) made a premium AIM debut yesterday (Friday) with the newly listed shares changing hands for as much as 64.5p on its first morning.
New shares were issued at 56p, raising £29.3mln, as part of the float that valued the Africa-focused oil company at £73.5mln before trading began.
The cash is being used to advance exploration on a materially de-risked permit in Niger, where drilling could prove prolific.
Here, as a western company, it is an early mover securing the R1/R2 permit area which was part of a much larger permit (called Agadem). The R1/R2 area was relinquished by China’s CNPC as it advanced oilfield developments in the surrounding areas.
Shares in Gulfsands Petroleum (LON:GPX) rose this week after it announced a successful result at the Lalla Yetou Updip-1 (LTU-1) well in the Rharb Centre permit in Morocco.
The well was the first to be drilled following the group's interpretation of seismic in the recently completed Rharb 3D seismic programme.
The well flowed at an estimated rate of 6.6mln cubic feet per day without producing formation water, the company told investors.
It is now being monitored for pressure build-up and thereafter will be temporarily suspended as a future gas producer.
Afren (LON:AFR) hit the headlines this week and shed a third of its value on Thursday as executive management were suspended after investigators found evidence of unauthorised payments.
Chief executive Osman Shahenshah and chief operating officer Shahid Ullah have been suspended temporarily, though Afren told investors that no conclusive findings have yet been reached and the investigation is ongoing.
The company, in a stock market statement, said the evidence was found in the course of an independent review carried out on the board’s behalf by law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP.
President Energy (LON:PPC) has bought out the remaining half of Puesto Guardian and will take over the operation of the producing field in North West Argentina, it emerged this week.
As a result, President’s main reserves (2P) almost double to 13mln barrels, while daily production will rise by 150 barrels.
The initial consideration is US$5mln with a further US$1.88mln payable in cash over the following two years with a further US$11mln potentially payable if total production rises above 1,000 barrels/day.
President is farmed-in to 50% of the concession currently on a non-operated basis. Gross production is currently 300 barrels of oil per day (bopd) at a current realised price of US$77.2 per barrel.
Meanwhile, Victoria Oil and Gas (LON:VOG) has completed a borehole under the Wouri River in Douala, Cameroon, opening up the Bonaberi district of the city as a potential new market.
Eleven gas supply agreements have already been signed with customers in Bonaberi and others are under negotiation, Victoria said.
It is the first time a horizontal borehole has been drilled for gas transportation under a major river in Cameroon, it added.
The pilot borehole, which is 250 mm in diameter, will be progressively reamed out to enable the pulling through of 400mm pipe. This pipe will then be connected to the existing Douala network and the new Bonaberi network.
Antrim Energy (LON:AEY) shares skyrocketed on Tuesday after it estimated that the Skellig block, offshore Ireland, could contain as much as 4.5bn barrels of oil equivalent.
Antrim retains a 25% stake in the asset following its tie-up with the current operator Kosmos Energy.
Consultant McDaniel & Associates has assessed the block, which currently has 17 identified leads, and puts potential resources between 260mln (low estimate) and 4.5bn (high estimate) barrels – with a ‘best’ estimate of 1.1bn barrels.
The two largest leads were given a combined ‘best’ estimate of 482mln barrels.
Antrim also told investors that findings from a recently completed 3D seismic programme strongly indicate the presence of Lower Cretaceous slope fan and channel deposits akin to many of the recent Cretaceous oil discoveries offshore West Africa.
Azonto Petroleum (LON:AZO) said that positive data room interest has allowed new industry partners to be sought for the Accra Block, Ghana.
The company, in today’s quarterly update, highlighted that the data room was opened in June, after the current ‘exploration period’ was extended by six months.
Finding a new partner to support the project through the next phase is the objective.
Meanwhile, Mosman Oil & Gas (LON:MSMN) is looking forward to a busy phase of work as it appraises its two new discoveries and continues to explore the Petroleum Creek property in New Zealand.
The company said this year’s programme provided good results in a short period of time, and also told investors that it has now formally committed to the next ‘permit year’ for the property.
It commits Mosman to carry out 40 kilometres of seismic acquisition. The company also informed the authorities of its plans to drill additional wells both this year and next year.
Also this week, Andes Energia (LON:AEN) has added Colombian assets to its portfolio, securing three undeveloped fields through the country's 2014 bidding round.
The company has a 70% interest in the three new assets, located in the Llanos basin, and all have had discoveries, with past production seen the production of medium and light oil at rates between 350 and 2,400 barrels per day.