DOUALA, CAMEROON AFRICA. NOVEMBER 2010 (news.cameroon-today.com) - BOWLEVEN, the oil and gas company, saw the prices of its shares going higher by 6.5 per cent yesterday.
As soon as the favorable results of a drilling exploration that was undertaken in one of its core projects in Cameroon was announced the shares of Bowleven increased by 6.5 percent yesterday.
The share prices of the Oil and Gas mining and exploration division have almost jumped up by four times in the previous year and has almost reached an all time high of 357.25p prior to closing up 20.5p at 338p.
bowleven Cameroon Douala Oil gas explorer
Investors have a second chance this month to get exhilarated about the share prices of Bowleven which operates out of Edinburgh after the firm spoke to the analysts about “better than expected” and to great extent “transformational” results in its latest project pertaining to the Sapele-1 well.
Yesterday the firm announced that the tests conducted here had revealed a source of hydrocarbons in the “deep omicron” layer. The Sapele-1 well tests are directed towards a group of five vertically stacked reservoirs. The first target showed definite amounts of gas, but the results from two previous targets which are below the first one which was revealed previously on November were “better than expected”.
This latest announcement stated that the firm had determined yet another “net hydrocarbon pay of 6 to 8 metres in high quality reservoir sands” in the third target.
The drilling operations are still underway in the fifth and deepest level and it is anticipated that the tests will get to the prerequisite depth levels in the month that follows. Sapele -1 is just a single well that is located in the oil well block MLHP-5, which is one among the three which has secured licenses to drill in what is known as the Douala basin off Cameroon.
Kevin Hart, chief executive of Bowleven, told the analysts and members of the press that though “further evaluation and appraisal are required”, he was highly confident that the results would definitely be positive.
“The additional pay encountered in the Miocene section provides further support to our view that the omicron discoveries are potentially transformational,” he said.
DeepSea Oil Rig – Bowleven Cameroon Gulf of Guinea Operates such Rig
Peter Hitchens, analyst at Panmure Gordon, said that the exploration results would however not do much to alter the businesses forecasts that the deep omicron target could be a source of more than 50 million barrels of oil but was optimistic of the fact that the “downside risks are reduced”.
However while he was addressing the investors in specific, Richard Griffin of Evolution Securities seemed to be of the opinion that the revelation of positive findings in the exploration was “not a game changer” for Bowleven, that the results were just representative of an “incremental positive” and “continues to improve the resource base on block MLHP-5 which will be at the forefront of the company’s drilling campaign for the next 12 to 18 months”.
Evo, however had a warning note for investors when he went on record stating that the test results “have been strong recently and we urge some caution ahead of the higher risk prospects to be drilled”.
Bowleve is an Aim listed Oil and Gas exploration company based out of Edinburgh with operations all across Africa. Bowleven has a 75% equity stake in the Etinde Permit area, comprising essentially of three shallow water blocks offshore Cameroon, West Africa. Bowleven also has full control in the Bomono Permit, offshore Cameroon, which covers around 2,328 km2 in the Douala/Kribi Campo basin.
Bowleven also exercises, through its subsidiary First Africa Oil Limited, a 100% stake in both the East Orovinyare offshore block in Gabon, which already has an existing oil well and is on the path to development, and 50% of the Epaemeno block
