April 18 (UPI) -- Potential partners are wanted to help share the risk and potential reward from emerging assets in West Africa, African Petroleum said in an annual review.
African Petroleum two years ago brought in its counterparts at Ophir Energy to its license area in the Ivory Coast, which eventually led to a multi-million dollar commitment to support a production sharing contract in the region.
In an annual report, the company said it was looking to capitalize on that momentum.
"The strategy, supported by detailed technical work and prospect definition, is to use the significant equity held in this prospective portfolio to fund a high impact exploration drilling campaign," the company stated.
African Petroleum said regional discoveries raise the prospect for capital commitments.
The company's call for investments followed a visit to Moscow from Senegalese Foreign Minister Mankeur Ndiaye. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said both sides were looking to expand cooperating in Senegal's oil and gas industry.
Russian interest in Senegal follows a March decision by the British subsidiary of China National Offshore Oil Corp. to outline areas of mutual interest offshore Gambia and Senegal with Australian energy company FAR Ltd.
FAR Ltd., an Australian company with a strong portfolio in West Africa, is focused on the broader Mauritania-Senegal-Guinea-Bissau basin. With eight regional oil discoveries so far, the company said MSGB is quickly emerging as an exploration "hot spot."
After income tax, African Petroleum reported a $2.6 million loss for the year ending Dec. 31.
