MELBOURNE, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- FAR Ltd., an Australian energy company, said Wednesday there may be significant deposits of oil off the coast of Guinea Bissau.
"FAR's hydrocarbon resource assessment confirms the billion barrel oil potential of FAR's offshore Guinea Bissau permits," Managing Director Cath Norman said in a statement.
West African countries have generated interest from energy companies looking to tap into oil and natural gas reserves off their coasts. The Jubilee field off the coast of Ghana is one of the richest oil fields in Africa with potential reserves eclipsing 1.8 billion barrels
FAR said its geological studies of three reserve areas off the coast of Guinea Bissau have "significant hydrocarbon resource potential."
The company, which has headquarters in Melbourne, said it believes the three blocks contain as much as 954 million barrels of oil.
"With the permits being located in benign shallow waters, the costs of exploration and development are commercially attractive," Norman said.
The company said it plans to start drilling into the prospects by the end of the year.
