Chariot to begin drilling at Namibia well

Shares in Chariot Oil & Gas rose on Monday after it secured a drilling ship to spud its Kabeljou well on the Nimrod prospect offshore Namibia.

The firm said that it had reached an agreement with Ocean Rig UDW to use its Ocean Rig Poseidon ship to drill at the site.

The Poseidon, which is currently on a long-term contract with the operator, should arrive on location in July and drilling operations would commence shortly afterwards, Chariot said.

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The Kabeljou well is expected to take approximately two months to drill and will be the second site to be drilled in Chariot's exploration well programme offshore Namibia.

The drilling location is 77km offshore Namibia in 360 metres of water with an estimated total drilling depth of 3,100 metres.

"Nimrod is one of the biggest prospects due to be drilled worldwide this year and we look forward to being able to update the market with further news on this hugely significant well in due course," said Chief Executive Paul Welch.

The firms shares rose almost 7% on the announcement.