Proactive Investors - Africa Oil Corp ({{TSX:AOI) has confirmed its 2023 management guidance as it released its results for the three months to June 30, 2023, in which it also highlighted the renewal of its OML 130 license for 20 years and progress at its Venus appraisal campaign.
In the results statement, Africa Oil's newly-appointed president and CEO, Roger Tucker described the company’s financial performance as “robust”.
“The decision to join Africa Oil was a compelling one for me given its excellent opportunity set. We have strong financials, quality high netback production, a world-class oil discovery, attractive exploration and development assets and a successful track record of transformational deal-making,” Tucker commented.
“These provide us with strategic optionality to take the company through its next phase of development and shareholder value delivery.”
The company recognized 2Q net income of $106.9 million, up from $5.7 million a year earlier, taking net income for the first six months of 2023 to $128.8 million from $51.3 million in 1H 2022.
The company’s share of income from equity investments included income from its 50% shareholding in Prime Oil & Gas Coöperatief of $212.7 million and $250.2 million respectively for the first quarter and the first half of 2023.
Over the period, it achieved an average realized oil sales price of $85.3 per barrel, compared to the average Bloomberg Dated Brent price of $78.0/bbl during 2Q 2023.
Africa Oil said the high-impact Venus appraisal campaign, which aims to explore the Venus oil discovery and investigate a potential westerly extension, continued with the operator completing the drilling and completion of the Venus-1A appraisal well using the Tungsten Explorer drillship.
Tungsten Explorer has commenced the drilling of the Nara-1X exploration well to test the westerly extension of the Venus oil discovery, it added.
It said a second rig, Deepsea Mira, has joined the campaign and is currently on the Venus-1X location to drill a side-track section and perform a drill stem testing (DST) program, before moving to Venus-1A to perform a DST.
Meanwhile, the OML 130 drilling campaign continues with two water injection wells completed and put online to provide reservoir pressure maintenance. The company said the first production well in the infill program is currently being drilled.
Africa Oil has production and development assets in Nigeria, development assets in Kenya, and an exploration and appraisal portfolio in various regions of Africa and Guyana.