BLBG:Ophir Gains In London After Upgrading Tanzanian Gas Reserves
Ophir Energy Plc (OPHR), the U.K. explorer planning to build the first liquefied natural gas terminal in East Africa, rose the most in more than two months in London trading after upgrading its resource estimates.
Ophir gained as much 6.1 percent to 599 pence, the biggest intraday increase since June 15. The shares were up 4.7 percent at 591 pence as of 9:48 a.m. local time.
The resource estimate for the Mzia discovery in Block 1 off the coast of Tanzania was increased to 4 trillion to 9 trillion cubic feet of gas from an earlier range of 2 trillion to 6 trillion, the London-based company said today in a statement. Ophir said its L9 and L15 blocks in Kenya and Block 7 in Tanzania may hold 36 trillion cubic feet of resources.
Gross discovered in-place resources for Blocks 1, 3 and 4 in Tanzania of as much as 21 trillion cubic feet meet the “threshold for a two-train LNG development,” Ophir said. It’s exploring the blocks with BG Group Plc. (BG/)
Tanzania may become the first East African nation to export LNG from one of the world’s poorest regions. The government is developing the gas industry master plan and may ask explorers to cooperate in building a unified LNG hub.
“In parallel with our exploration programme, we have begun screening work to identify a potential site for an onshore LNG plant,” Kim Blomley, a spokesman at Reading, England-based BG, said today. “While we have clearly made an encouraging start in Tanzania, it is early days and much work is yet to be done before BG can commit to an LNG project in the country.”
Ophir said it plans to introduce a “strategic partner” ahead of a planned multiwell drilling program in 2013 in Kenya and Tanzania.
To contact the reporter on this story: Eduard Gismatullin in London at egismatullin@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Will Kennedy at wkennedy3@bloomberg.net
