african petroleum - worth the read

This is in reference to the licenses directly adjacent to FAR's Senegal license to the South. Last paragraph is interesting too - they believe the are going after a number of acquisitions in West Africa. Something's brewing with this mob imo.


Source - Petroleum Africa

http://www.petroleumafrica.com/en/newsarticle.php?NewsID=10184 or hard print below


African Petroleum Takes Gambia Offshore Blocks

Date: Monday, August 23, 2010


African Petroleum Corp. Ltd. announced that its subsidiary has entered into an agreement with Buried Hill Gambia BV to farm-in to two offshore licenses.

If approved, the subsidiary, African Petroleum Gambia, will take a 60% equity interest in Buried Hill?s two Gambian exploration licenses ‒ Alhamdulilah License Block A1 and License Block A4.


Under the agreement, African Petroleum Gambia will assume the operatorship of the blocks which cover a combined total area of 2,668 sq km offshore Gambia.

The government of The Republic of the Gambia has approved the agreement and the extension of the initial exploration period for each of the blocks by a further two years, expiring December 31, 2013.

As required under the agreement, African Petroleum Gambia is required to pay 80% of the costs incurred on the blocks from execution of the Agreement to the end of the initial exploration period, which shall include the cost of a 3D seismic acquisition program, the drilling of the first exploration well, and all other operational and technical support costs. Additionally, the company must assume responsibility for all of Buried Hill?s corporate license guarantees, amounting to $8 million, and pay Buried Hill?s data fees to the Gambian government, amounting to $750,000.

In the event that the exploration period is mutually extended beyond December 31, 2013 on either of the blocks, African Petroleum Gambia must pay 60% of Buried Hill?s past costs, which amount to approximately $22.9 million.

Senergy (GB) Ltd., an independent oil and gas consultant engaged by the company, has reviewed the exploration potential of the two blocks and based on its assessment, the directors believe that there is substantial exploration potential with more than 20 prospects identified in five independent play settings, primarily in the lower cretaceous. Oil seep studies and basin modeling indicate that hydrocarbon generation has taken place.

The Alhamdulilah Structure is a four-way dip-closed structure with five stacked reservoir units. The structure covers an area of approximately 24 sq km over five mapped reservoirs with a gross thickness of 1,000 meters and a potential resource range of 560-1,000 million barrels (MMbbls). Other play types include stratigraphically-trapped fans and slope channel complexes of Turonian-Campanian age, Upper Jurassic, and lower Cretaceous karstified reef build-ups and four-way closures and eroded shelf clastics onlapping the shelf edge.

Senergy has indicated that, combined, these provide a total unrisked, mean recoverable potential for both blocks in excess of 4,600 MMbbls.

Commenting on the agreement, Tony Sage, African Petroleum?s Chairman said, ?This agreement gives our company an exciting opportunity to participate in Gambia?s offshore potential. This is the first of what we believe will be a number of acquisitions by African Petroleum within the West Africa region, which should place us as the leading exploration company in the area.??