2010-03-11-2010-01-18

Acquired 32.5% WI in offshore OML 115 offshore Nigeria.

Afren Plc, London, (London: AFR) has acquired a 32.5% interest in the OML115 block offshore southeastern Nigeria from privately held, London-based Energy Equity Resources Ltd. for approximately $36 million.

The purchase price includes $6 million in cash and costs for an exploratory well scheduled to be drilled in the second half of 2010, estimated at $30 million.

Energy Equity will retain a 7.5% interest in the block, which is estimated to contain 270 million barrels of oil. Privately held, Abuja, Nigeria-based Oriental Energy Resources Ltd. also participates in the joint venture.

OML115 is adjacent to the Ebok and Okwok fields, in which Afren and Oriental both participate, and is in the translational structural setting of the offshore Niger Delta. Afren says it has identified significant exploration potential at the deeper Qua Iboe level, a producing reservoir in the nearby Zafiro Field.

Afren says that the joint venture has the potential to create a production hub around Ebok, Okwok and OML115, with the opportunity for shared storage and export operations.