OIL explorer Bowleven has expanded its operations into East Africa after signing a deal with another UK-based minnow to tackle an onshore block in Kenya.
The Edinburgh-based firm has taken a 50 per cent stake in a site owned by Adamantine Energy, close to a discovery made by Tullow Oil earlier this year.
Bowleven said it will invest $10 million (£6.2m) to fund exploration costs over two years.
The move into Kenya marks an expansion of what has been Bowleven’s main focus, exploring off the coast of Cameroon in West Africa.
The firm said yesterday that it had commenced further offshore exploration drilling in the region, but added that its search for a rig and “farm out” partner meant a project to explore a block onshore Cameroon will probably be delayed until 2013.
Chief executive Kevin Hart said he was “delighted to add a significant acreage position in Kenya to our existing exploration portfolio in Cameroon”.
He added: “This new acreage affords the company exposure to an exciting new hydrocarbon province for a minimal capital commitment.”