5th Feb 2016 08:51
LONDON (Alliance News) - Bahamas Petroleum Co PLC shares rose on Friday after the Bahamian senate approved a Petroleum Bill aimed at improving exploration in the country.
Bahamas Petroleum shares were trading up 20% at 1.98 pence per share Friday morning.
Bahamas Petroleum is the only London-listed oil and gas company operating in the Bahamas, which is made up of over 700 islands.
Whilst neighbouring Cuba has oilfields in production, there is not currently any oil production in the Bahamas. However, there have been many boreholes drilled in the past and the islands are still home to storage facilities and major shipping lanes.
The Petroleum Bill, alongside the Sovereign Wealth Fund Bill, will now be officially signed off by the governor general, after which the two bills will turn into legal acts.
The new legislation provides an upgraded and modernised framework for petroleum exploration operations in the Bahamas and are set to guide and govern the next phase of safe and responsible hydrocarbon exploration. The Sovereign Wealth Fund will ensure that wealth generated from exploration success in the country will be invested and conserved to benefit the country's population.
"In addition, establishing this new legislative framework will more readily enable the discharge of the company's obligation to the government of the Bahamas in achieving its goal of drilling the first modern oil exploration well in The Bahamas since those previously completed in the 1970s and 1980s," said the company.
All of Bahamas Petroleum's assets are in the region, with four southern offshore fields lying along the maritime boundary between the Bahamas and Cuba. Those wholly owned licences cover the offshore Bain, Cooper, Donaldson and Eneas fields and sit alongside the company's Miami offshore field in the northern part of the country.
By Joshua Warner; [email protected]; @JoshAlliance
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