Yemisi Izuora
The Eland Oil & Gas shares rose by more than nine per cent after it was handed a major boost to its drilling ambitions in Nigeria.
The Aberdeen-based Eland said that the oil and gas regulator in Nigeria, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) confirmed to its joint venture company, Elcrest, that it has fulfilled all its obligations to operate the OML 40 in the Niger Delta for a minimum of 10 years.
That has included payment of the “requisite premium” and fees of $2.3m to the department.
The OML 40 licence lies within the Niger Delta and covers an area of 498 square kilometres. Gross production from its Opuama field is more than 3500 barrels of oil per day.
George Maxwell, chief executive of Eland Oil & Gas, said: “We are delighted to have received consent from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources for Elcrest’s appointment as operator of OML 40.”
The final hurdle for Eland to clear to finalise the joint operating model agreement for OML 40, which has been drafted and approved by the minister of petroleum resources.
The agreement is expected to be signed by all parties in the “coming weeks.”