Yemisi Izuora
Pan-African explorer Oranto Petroleum is investing in Zambia’s oil industry as it has concluded plans to farm into blocks 17 and 27 exploration fields located onshore Zambia.
“Oranto Petroleum is committed to an aggressive work program to increase the level of prospectivity in one of the world’s last true frontier markets,” said Prince Aurthe Eze, Chairman of Oranto Petroleum. “Our specialty at Oranto Petroleum is discovering the vast potential of Africa’s frontier oil and gas markets, and we are very pleased to add Zambia to our extensive portfolio. We are committed to developing Zambia into an oil and gas producing nation, as we have many times with other countries on the continent.”
Oranto Petroleum and its sister company Atlas Petroleum International comprise the largest African independent by acreage, with active exploration and production programs across the continent, including Benin, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Liberia, Namibia, Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, South Sudan and Uganda.
Under the agreement, signed today, Oranto Petroleum will hold a 90 percent stake and ZCCM Investment Holdings will control a 10 percent share, on behalf of the Zambian Government. The company will be required to conduct geological and geophysical studies for first two 2-year sub-periods.
Current operators in Zambia include Tullow Oil and Bowleven. Though only marginal finds have been discovered, the under-explored market shares basins with Tanzania to the northeast and Angola to the west — both of which have hosted mega oil and gas discoveries.
Atlas Petroleum International and Oranto Petroleum represent Africa’s largest privately-held, Africa-focused exploration and production group. Our extensive footprint across the African continent includes 22 oil and gas licenses in 11 jurisdictions, including producing assets in Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea and numerous Atlas/Oranto-operated blocks.
Operating as sister companies in the West Africa region since 1991, Atlas and Oranto now operate throughout Africa, with regional offices and representatives in all our core investment locations.