BOWLEVEN has been given extra time to try to find more oil and gas off Cameroon where work on a key well off West Africa has been delayed by two weeks, writes Mark Williamson.
The Edinburgh-based firm said the Cameroon Government has granted a one-year extension to the exploration phase of the Etinde Permit, where it has made a number of finds.
The exploration phase will now end on December 21 2012. The extension could allow Bowleven to drill more exploration wells in an area where it hopes to make big finds.
The directors’ confidence in the potential of the three blocks that Bowleven controls was heightened last year when it made a number of discoveries with the Sapele Well. The company needs to appraise these before it can give an estimate of their potential size.
Investors were expecting to get the results of the Sapele-2 well to appraise two finds this week. However, Bowleven said: “Mechanical difficulties, which have now been resolved, were encountered during testing activities and consequently results are now expected in around two weeks.”
Despite the delay, chief executive Kevin Hart said: “We eagerly await the test results from Deep and Lower Omicron at Sapele-2.”
He said Bowleven has made progress in attempts to ensure there is a market for the gas it hopes to produce off Cameroon – a crucial factor in deciding if finds are commercial.
The company has agreed outline terms for the sale of gas to a Liquefied Natural Gas plant that GDF Suez and the national oil company of Cameroon, SNH, are considering building.
Shares in Bowleven closed down 3.25p at 339p.
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