Elsewhere, Aminex has hopes that its Tanzanian venture may...

Elsewhere, Aminex has hopes that its Tanzanian venture may benefit from the recent takeover of its partner there Petrom, in which it is in a protracted legal dispute over unpaid cash calls, by Austrian firm OMV.

“OMV is quite an aggressive and good explorer, which is good news,” said Hall.

Aminex has submitted its work programme for the second exploration phase of the Nyuni Licence and is waiting to hear back from the Tanzanian authorities. The company is also looking for partners to help shoulder the costs of further exploration in the remote region and has been cheered by the interest shown by a number of “good sized companies”, said Hall.

Aminex’s 100 percent subsidiary Ndovu Resources holds 60 per cent of the licence with Petrom (now OMV) holding 30 per cent and Bounty Oil & Gas 10 per cent.

Aminex remains committed to the Nyuni acreage, despite the disappointment of its Nyuni-1 exploration well. The well, which was massively delayed and over-budget, didn’t deliver the commercial strike Aminex was looking for. However, the company believes the results augur well for future exploration.

“The well showed lots of signs of hydrocarbons, it was a nice if complicated reservoir and there were nice oil shows at the bottom of the hole,” said Hall. “It by no means writes off the area.”