22nd Jun 2016 13:28
LONDON (Alliance News) - Clontarf Energy PLC and Petrel Resources PLC Wednesday said authorities in Ghana have welcomed them to begin negotiations about obtaining an offshore block over the Tano basin block.
Clontarf shares were up 43% to 0.300 pence per share on Wednesday afternoon whilst Petrel shares were up 5.4% to 6.06 pence.
Clontarf and Petrel are working together through their stakes in Pan Andean Resources (Ghana) Ltd, holding a 30% and 60% stake respectively in that company, with the other 10% held by local interests in Ghana.
Back in 2014, press reports emerged that authorities in Ghana were about to award an offshore area to a third-party which Pan Andean believed partly made up its own Tano 2A block, which was covered by a petroleum agreement signed back in 2010.
Pan Andean immediately implemented an injunction to prevent authorities from awarding the area in question to another company and launched legal proceedings to protect its asset, but then subsequently dropped the case after an agreement was signed which clarified the boundary covered by the petroleum agreement, with ministers agreeing to add the acreage to the Tano 2A block to preserve its size.
The dispute over the co-ordinates of the area covered by the petroleum agreement arose because that agreement was not approved by the Ghanaian cabinet or parliament.
After Pan Andean and authorities agreed on revised co-ordinates for the agreement, Ghana invited the company to re-apply for an exploration licence over the Tano basin offshore the country.
On Wednesday, Clontarf and Petrel said the Ghanaian Ministry of Petroleum has informed them that authorities have reviewed the proposal put forward by Pan Andean, stating the block named Lukoil B is "available for negotiations".
Petrel and Clontarf both said they would "confirm our interest and follow up on this prospective acreage."
"This new acreage is an offshore block in deeper water than the Tano 2A block which has been the subject of ongoing discussions for many years," said the pair.
By Joshua Warner; [email protected]; @JoshAlliance
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