Africa Oil Corp. bullish on Nigerian growth and Namibia long-term game

A senior executive at the company said that Canada's Africa Oil Corporation would double its Nigerian production and its reserves once it completed its deal to acquire Prime Oil on Tuesday.

Africa Oil will acquire the entire shareholding of Dutch company Prime Oil & Gas Cooperatief. Its main assets are indirect stakes in Nigerian deep-water fields operated by TotalEnergies or Chevron.

Oliver Quinn is the chief commercial officer of Africa Oil. He said: "We will dramatically change the scale and scope of our business when we close that deal. We will double our production, double our reserves, and significantly increase our liquidity position."

He said that once the deal was completed, Africa Oil would produce 35,000 barrels of oil per day.

Quinn said that the barrels are of high value because their lifting costs are low, at under $10. This means they sell for a premium over Brent.

Africa Oil and its partners have announced that they will be conducting an infill drilling program this year in order to maintain production in mid-lifefields.

The company has a presence in Namibia’s Orange Basin, which is a prolific oil and gas basin. It holds a 40% stake of Impact Oil and Gas and exposure to the Venus find.

TotalEnergies, the operator of Total Energy Namibia, expects to make a final decision on investment in 2026. This will propel Namibia into becoming an oil exporter by the end of the decade.

Quinn stated, "Our focus is on adding to the cash-generating machine which will run through the decade. On the backend Namibia Venus will come onstream and we'll have significant growth for that asset." (Reporting and editing by Christian Schmollinger; Wendell Roelf)

(source: Reuters)