Afren swimming in oil at Nigerian site

Exploration firm Afren said it had found significant oil reserves at its Ebok North Fault Block well, offshore Nigeria.

Data showed that there could be an excess of 100 barrels of oil at the site, towards the upper end of Afren's pre-drill expectations.

The firm said it had encountered 370 feet of true vertical thickness (TVT) of oil in "excellent quality reservoir sands".

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"The proximity of Ebok NFB to existing infrastructure at the main Ebok field production hub means that we can quickly monetise these newly discovered volumes," said Chief Executive Osman Shahenshah.

The company added that a discovery of significant oil pay at this location underlined the high-grade prospectivity that exists across the wider area.

It has been a mixed year for Afren; it had seen success at its Okoro East site, offshore south east Nigeria, as well as the Simrit-2 exploration well in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

However, shares took a hit towards the end of April after the company reported disappointing results from its Nunya 1x exploration well, offshore Ghana.