RAK Petroleum has upped its stake in an Ivory Coast offshore block as the UAE company seeks to boost its holdings in Africa.
RAK Petroleum's stake in Block CI-27 has risen to 9.1 per cent via a US$10.6 million investment through its one-third owned Foxtrot International.
Foxtrot and its joint venture partners bought the stake held by Energie de Cote d’Ivoire.
"Development of the previously discovered Marlin oil and gasfield and the nearby Manta gasfield is on track [and is] part of a four-year, US$1 billion, expansion programme on Block CI-27," RAK Petroleum said in a statement yesterday.
Once the second production platform on the block is completed, it will help to increase output from the block next year.
The first platform has been in operation since 1999 and currently processes on average 145 million cubic feet of gas a day, 70 per cent of Ivory Coast's total.
RAK Petroleum, which holds a 42.8 per cent stake in Norway’s DNO, raised $25 million in an initial public offering on the Oslo exchange in November.
DNO holds stakes in 20 blocks in various stages of exploration, development and production both onshore and offshore in Iraq’s Kurdish region, Yemen, Oman, the UAE, Tunisia and Somaliland.
RAK Petroleum’s net profit in 2013 plunged 78.6 per cent to Dh58m from Dh271.6m a year earlier.
DNO meanwhile reported a $41.6m third-quarter loss owing to the reduction in local Kurdish sales. DNO has been struggling financially as it awaits payment from the Kurdistan Regional Government on its arrears.
Rak Petroleum rose 15 percent to 18.5 krone in afternoon trading yesterday.
dalsaadi@thenational.ae
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