Canadian Overseas Petroleum Limited (COPL) through its 50% owned subsidiary, Shoreline Canadian Overseas Petroleum Limited (ShoreCan), has finalized the acquisition of 80% of the share capital of Essar Exploration and Production Limited in Nigeria.

Essar's sole asset in Nigeria is a 100% interest and operatorship of OPL 226, located 50 km offshore in the central area of the Niger Delta.

According to COPL, application has been made and under the terms of the production sharing contract (PSC) governing OPL 226, it is mandatory for Essar Nigeria to seek for ministerial consent for the transaction and the parties are waiting for approval.

Under the terms of the acquisition, ShoreCan will assume management control and have a majority of directors on the board of Essar Nigeria instantly.

Essar was recently granted an extension to the Phase 1 of the PSC to December 31, 2017. Outstanding commitment on the Phase 1 is the drilling of one well and COPL's technical team has pointed out a drilling location, which will be an offset to an oil find made in 2001 by a previous contract holder.

“This is a great opportunity for our company. It is a result of our efforts and of our partner in ShoreCan; the Nigeria-based Shoreline Energy International. It allows the company to leverage its in-house technical expertise and expand its regional footprint to acquire a high quality oil appraisal and development asset offshore Nigeria. It will be an excellent complement to our current West African portfolio,” Arthur Millholland, President and chief executive officer of COPL told Energy Voice.

Anita Fatunji