Business
Investment in Elephant Oil and Directorate change
Investment in Elephant Oil and Directorate change.
About this update from Tooru Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \nRNS Number : 8650R Paternoster Resources PLC 17 September 2014 \n \n\n \n \n \nPATERNOSTER RESOURCES PLC\n\"Paternoster\" or the \"Company\"\n \n \nInvestment in Elephant Oil Limited and appointment of Non-Executive Director\n \n \nPaternoster is pleased to announce an investment in Elephant Oil Limited (\"Elephant\"), an oil and gas exploration and production company focused on West Africa, and the appointment of a new Non-Executive Director.\n \nInvestment in Elephant Oil\n \nPaternoster has agreed to subscribe for 1,185,770 new ordinary shares in Elephant, representing 5.5 per cent. of Elephant's enlarged share capital at a price per share of 25.3 pence, for an aggregate consideration of £300,000.\n \nElephant is an oil exploration company holding a 100% interest in the production-sharing contract (\"PSC\") on Block B, onshore Benin, on the prolific West Africa Transform Margin. The block covers 4,500 km2 or two-thirds of the coastal basin and is one of only two onshore blocks that have been made available by the government of Benin.\n \nThere are a number of major oil companies with a presence in the surrounding area including Tullow, Lekoil, New Age, Afren and Anadarko. Furthermore, Hunt Oil, Shell, and Petrobras are planning to drill wells in the area by the end of 2014.\n \nElephant has already acquired a high-resolution aero gravity gradiometry survey, covering the entirety of Block B. Fieldwork and geophysical interpretation have also been completed which have already identified a number of prospects. Preparations are now underway for a new 2D seismic acquisition programme that will be used to select the optimal location for the first exploration wells onshore in Benin.\n \nBenin is located between Nigeria and Togo on the west coast of Africa. It is one of Africa's most stable democracies. Benin has seen economic growth over the past few years and is a major cotton producer, however, it is still relatively underdeveloped. In terms of oil opportunities, discoveries in Benin's Seme field and the adjacent Nigeria Aje fields, the latter being next door to the major oil discovery by Afren and Lekoil in OPL 310, point to the hydrocarbon potential of the area.\n \nElephant's strategy is to build a portfoli...