Gambia : FAR gains approval for 80% stake in offshore Blocks A2 and A5

The ASX listed FAR saluted significant expansion of exploration portfolio in a rapidly emerging offshore in West Africa, following approval to its 80% stake in 2,682km2 vast Blocks A2 and A5 in offshore Gambia.

The Government of Gambia “has approved the assignment of an 80% interest in offshore Blocks A2 and A5”to FAR Ltd from the New York and Johannesburg listed ERIN Energy Corporation, the Australian junior company reported on 3 June.

Blocks A2 and A5 have, in combination, potential to contain prospective resources in excess of one billion barrels of oil and lie approximately 30km offshore in water depths ranging from 50 to 1,200 meters.

This acquisition “is a significant expansion of FAR’s exploration portfolio in the rapidly emerging offshore Mauritania-Senegal-Guinea-Bissau Basin in West Africa”, the document reads.

Commenting on this, Mrs. Cath Norman (photo), FAR Managing Director, said : “Our discoveries immediately to the North in offshore Senegal provide significant encouragement for the future discovery of oil and gas in Blocks A2 and A5 in Gambia”.

She said the significant prospectivity that have been identified in Blocks A2 and A5 are analogous play types to those successfully drilled by FAR in Senegal providing high potential to create value for both the people of Gambia and FAR shareholders.

Together with ERIN Energy Corp., FAR expects to undertake 3D seismic reprocessing and interpretation during 2017 in order to mature prospects for drilling in late 2018.

Under the terms of their farm-in agreement, a wholly owned subsidiary of FAR has acquired an 80% interest and Operatorship of offshore Blocks A2 and A5 from ERIN Energy Corporation.

FAR will make an upfront payment of 5.18 million US$ and fund up to 8.0 million US$ of ERIN’s share of the cost of an exploration well expected to be drilled late in 2018.