Africa Oil Corp. AOIFF recently announced the completion of a transaction with Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas, following which the company’s stake in Block 3B/4B in the Orange Basin offshore South Africa increased from 17% to 18%.
The terms of the consideration laid down that Eco would transfer 1% of its stake to Africa Oil in exchange for AOIFF giving up its equity rights in Eco.
Per the deal, Africa Oil canceled about 54.94 million common shares and about 4.86 million warrants held in Eco. The exchange valued at C$11.5 million reflects Africa Oil's commitment to enhancing its asset base in the Orange Basin.As a result of the transaction, Africa Oil's representative has stepped down from Eco’s board of directors.
Block 3B/4B of the Orange Basin spans 17,581 km2 offshore South Africa with water depths ranging between 300m and 2500m. This block is deemed to have a large opportunity set of exploration prospects as it has about 14,000 km of 2D seismic and 10,800 km2 of 3D seismic projection. The block lies to the southeast and is on trend, as a number of oil discoveries, like Venus, have been made on it.
The South African Mineral Resources and Energy Department’s environmental permit for a campaign involving the exploration of up to five wells also validates the exploration prospects of the block.
In August 2024, AOIFF closed a farm-down deal with TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy for block 3B/4B, where Africa Oil, along with co-venturer Ricocure (Pty.) Ltd. transferred a combined 57% to TotalEnergies (33% operating interest) and its DWOB partner QatarEnergy (24%).
Post the recently announced acquisition, the Africa Oil group now holds an 18% interest in Block 3B/4B, with other partners like TotalEnergies holding a 33% operating interest, QatarEnergy holding a 24% interest, Ricocure holding a 19.75% and Eco holding a 5.25% interest.
Canada-based Africa Oil Corp. is an oil and gas exploration and development company. Currently, AOIFF has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Investors interested in the energy sector might look at top-ranked stocks like ARC Resources Ltd. AETUF, Gulfport Energy Corporation GPOR and YPF Sociedad Anónima YPF. ARC Resources, Gulfport Energy and YPF Sociedad Anónima currently sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Calgary, Canada-based ARC Resources is engaged in the exploration, acquisition and development of oil and natural gas properties. AETUF’s expected EPS growth rate for next year is 50.78%, which aligns favorably with the industry growth rate of 10.50%.
Gulfport Energy is an independent natural gas and oil company focused on the exploration and development of natural gas and oil properties in North America. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GPOR’s 2024 earnings indicates 108.53% year-over-year growth.
YPF Sociedad Anonima is an international energy company based on the integrated business of hydrocarbons. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for YPF’s 2024 earnings indicates 50.59% year-over-year growth.
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