VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 22,
2024 /CNW/ - (TSX: AOI) (Nasdaq-Stockholm:
AOI) – Africa Oil Corp. ( "Africa
Oil", or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has received
the final approval from the Government of the Republic of
South Africa for the transfer of a
6.25% interest in Block 3B/4B in the Orange
Basin from Azinam Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eco
(Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd. ("Eco"), to the Company as announced
on July 11, 2023. As per the terms of the
Assignment and Transfer Agreement with Eco, the Company has made a
payment of USD 2.5 million to
Eco. View PDF version
Consequently, the Company now holds an operated 26.25% interest
in Block 3B/4B with Eco
retaining a 20.00% interest and Ricocure (Pty) Ltd with a 53.75%
interest.
An independent review of the prospective resources and
probability of geological success of the exploration prospects
within Block 3B/4B has reported total unrisked gross P50
prospective resources of approximately 4 billion
barrels of oil equivalent. Probability of success ranges from
11% to 39% over the 24 prospects identified.
The Company and its Block 3B/4B partners are
progressing plans to conduct a drilling campaign on the Block and
are in discussions with potential partners to farm out a share of
their working interest in the Block. The Company and its partners
are also working with an environmental consulting firm in
conducting an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment process,
in preparation for permitting and drilling activity on the
Block.
Africa Oil Chief Executive Officer, Dr Roger Tucker, commented: "I am pleased we
have received final approval for the increase of our interest in
Block 3B/4B. Africa Oil
has a significant opportunity set in the Orange Basin, probably the
most sought-after new petroleum region globally. We are excited
about the large prospect inventory in
Block 3B/4B; the
prospects are all based on 3D seismic and are of similar age and
type to the discoveries announced by Shell and TotalEnergies in the
Orange Basin."
About Block 3B/4B
Block 3B/4B covers an area of
17,581 km2 within the Orange Basin,
offshore South Africa in water
depths ranging between 500m and
2,500m. This block lies to the
southeast and on trend with number of oil discoveries including
Venus and Graff. Africa Oil has approximately
14,000 km of 2D seismic and
10,800 km2 of 3D seismic over
Block 3B/4B and has
identified a large opportunity set of exploration prospects, with
the majority of the prospects lying in approximately 1,500m of water.
An independent review of the block's prospective resources has
been completed by RISC Advisory (UK) Limited ("RISC"), in
accordance with Canadian National Instrument
51-101 – Standards for Oil and Gas Activities
("NI 51-101"), the Canadian Oil and Gas
Evaluation Handbook ("COGE Handbook") and the Petroleum Resources
Management System 2018 ("PRMS"). The effective date of RISC's
report is March 7, 2023, and can be
found on the Company's website:
https://africaoilcorp.com/operations/project-overview/
RISC has reviewed the prospective resources and probability of
geological success of 24 exploration prospects within Block
3B/4B
in accordance with the PRMS. The report provides an evaluation of
prospective resources from a prospect inventory identified using 3D
seismic data and follows completion of the reprocessing of
2,200 km2 of 3D seismic data and
play-opening discoveries in Namibia including TotalEnergies' Venus
discovery and Shell's Graff, La Rona, and Jonker light oil
discoveries. These discoveries prove the existence of a working
petroleum system for light oil, gas condensate and gas in the
geological play fairway. The proven reservoirs in Graff and Venus
discoveries are similar to Cretaceous reservoirs and geological
plays that would be targeted in Block3B/4B. Prospects in Block 3B/4B are
identified using 3D seismic data to assess the presence of seismic
attributes including amplitude-variation-with-offset ("AVO") or
direct hydrocarbon indicators ("DHI's").
About Africa Oil
Africa Oil Corp. is a Canadian oil and gas company with
producing and development assets in deepwater Nigeria and an exploration/appraisal portfolio
in west and south of Africa, as
well as Guyana. The Company is
listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and on Nasdaq Stockholm under
the symbol "AOI".
Additional Information
This information is information that Africa Oil is obliged to
make public pursuant to the Swedish Financial Instruments Trading
Act. The information was submitted for publication, through the
agency of the contact persons set out above, at
02:00 a.m. EST on
January 22, 2024.
Forward Looking
Information
Certain statements and information contained herein constitute
"forward-looking information" (within the meaning of applicable
Canadian securities legislation), including the prospectivity of
Block 3B/4B, possible farm out of Block 3B/4B, drilling on
Block 3B/4B, the completion of the permitting process for
Block 3B/4B, and the potential of the Venus discovery or
the broader Orange Basin. Such statements and information
(together, "forward looking statements") relate to future events or
the Company's future performance, business prospects or
opportunities.
All statements other than statements of historical fact may be
forward-looking statements. Statements concerning proven and
probable reserves and resource estimates may also be deemed to
constitute forward-looking statements and reflect conclusions that
are based on certain assumptions that the reserves and resources
can be economically exploited. Any statements that express or
involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations,
beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future
events or performance (often, but not always, using words or
phrases such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue",
"estimate", "expect, "may", "will", "project", "predict",
"potential", "targeting", "intend", "could", "might", "should",
"believe" and similar expressions) are not statements of historical
fact and may be "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking
statements involve known and unknown risks, ongoing uncertainties
and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ
materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking
statements, including statements pertaining to dividend
distributions, share repurchase programs, the 2022 Management
Guidance including production, cashflow from operation and capital
investment estimates, performance of commodity hedges, the results,
schedules and costs of exploratory drilling activity, uninsured
risks, regulatory and fiscal changes, availability of materials and
equipment, unanticipated environmental impacts on operations,
duration of the drilling program, availability of third party
service providers and defects in title. No assurance can be given
that these expectations will prove to be correct and such
forward-looking statements should not be unduly relied upon. The
Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to
update these forward-looking statements, except as required by
applicable laws. These forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties relating to, among other things, changes in
macro-economic conditions and their impact on operations, changes
in oil prices, reservoir and production facility performance,
hedging counterparty contractual performance, results of
exploration and development activities, cost overruns, uninsured
risks, regulatory and fiscal changes, defects in title, claims and
legal proceedings, availability of materials and equipment,
availability of skilled personnel, timeliness of government or
other regulatory approvals, actual performance of facilities, joint
venture partner underperformance, availability of financing on
reasonable terms, availability of third party service providers,
equipment and processes relative to specifications and expectations
and unanticipated environmental, health and safety impacts on
operations. Actual results may differ materially from those
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
SOURCE Africa Oil Corp.