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Strategies & Market Trends : Dino's Bar & Grill -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Goose94 who wrote (6733)	6/12/2014 12:05:31 PM
From: Goose94	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 203419

Taipan Resources (TPN-V) Completes Kenyan Block 2B Farm-out With Tower Resources Taipan Resources is upping its game in Africa after completing an important farm-out deal in Kenya. The company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Lion Petroleum, has just offloaded 15 per cent of its equity in Kenyan onshore block 2B following a cash and shares deal with the UK’s Tower Resources, another aspiring African player. The farm-out, first announced back in April, means the Canadian junior is now fully funded for the next phase of exploration on the block, located in Kenya’s upcoming Anza Basin.Kenya is now firmly on the radar screen for overseas investors following the recent discovery of oil and gas across various parts of eastern Africa. Taipan’s chief executive Max Birley, called the whole area “highly prospective” for drillers. Another British company, Premier Oil, is leading the Block 2B oil search with a 55 percent interest. Graeme Thomson, Tower’s chief executive, called the licence “right at the forefront of new plays” in the eastern Africa area.In February, an independent assessment for Block 2B put gross mean un-risked prospective resources in the permit at 1,593 mmboe, based on 19 exploration leads.Taipan Resources company retains a 30 percent stake in the block and operatorship during the exploration phase. In return for the farm-out deal, the Canadian company nets US$4.5 million in cash, plus 9 million ordinary shares in Tower. There is also a contingent payment of US$1 million on the spudding of a second well.Taipan also holds a 20 percent interest in Kenya’s Block 1, which is operated by Afren subsidiary East Africa Exploration (Kenya). This block sits alongside Kenya’s north-eastern border with Somalia and Ethiopia. On the ground, Birley said the newly expanded partnership is now focused on progressing the work programme on the Block 2B permit.“The completion of the transaction now means we are funded to drill wells on both blocks," he said.The Badada-1 well is expected to spud at the end of 2014 or early 2015 and will target gross mean unrisked prospective resources of 251 mmboe. This is the next big test for Taipan and its new-look team.Birley called it an “exciting time” for all at his company. In May, the Canadian firm’s common shares started trading on the OTCQX marketplace in the United States, in a bid to raise awareness of the company to a broader shareholder base. With strong UK participation, and mounting interest in Kenya, this awareness is likely to extend to a European investor base too. All eyes on the drilling ahead then, with plenty of details and preparation work to put together first. But if Badada-1 is successful then Taipan is in the right place at the right time.