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Tower Resources "very pleased" with outcomes so far in 2018

Published: 03:50 28 Sep 2018 EDT

Offshore oil rig
Tower expects to secure an offshore rig for the Thali licence by mid-December

Jeremy Asher, the chairman and chief executive officer of Tower Resources PLC (LON:TRP), said the oil explorer had been busy since it last updated the market.

In its interim results statement, the company said that since the end of June, it had been pushing forward with well preparations in Cameroon. The company is in active discussions about securing a rig by December 15 of this year, as per the requirements of its licence extension for the Thali offshore licence.

Tower has also been discussing the way forward on its South African licence with its 50% partner and operator on the licence, New Age.

“We agreed some time ago that we should bring in a third partner to fund the acquisition of more 3D seismic on behalf of the partnership, but we have been waiting for the operator to complete its assessment of the prospects and leads and to identify the most fruitful options for further 3D. In September the operator completed its assessment, and also formally began the farm-out process on behalf of Rift and New Age using Envoi Limited to manage the process,” Asher said.

READ: Tower Resources launches South Africa partnering process

The company is also working to conclude the terms of a new petroleum agreement with the Government of the Republic of Namibia.

The pre-revenue company declared a loss before tax of US$3.35mln, compared to a loss of US$730,129 the year before, with the change largely down to a US$2.81mln write-down in the value of exploration and evaluation assets in Zambia.

Asher said the delays in the completion of the new Petroleum Act in Zambia had been a cause of much frustration. While it waits for the new legislation to arrive and the company’s discussions with the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Development, the board considered it prudent to write-down the value of its investment in Zambia.

“Overall, we have been very active in the first nine months of 2018, and we are very pleased with the outcomes so far. Next year we will drill an extremely important well on the Thali licence, and all the work we have done to date has reinforced our confidence in that licence,” Asher said.