The PetroAfricanus Club (Exploration For Africa) founded by Global Pacific & Partners in London concluded its 6th Annual Award Dinner on 11 October with the Inaugural PetroAfricanus Award 2005 being received by Dr Alan Stein, Managing Director of Ophir Energy Company, before numerous senior executives attending the Dinner from Africa and around the world.
The Award was in recognition to Ophir Energy and its management team's accomplishments in Africa over many years, and notably since early 2004 as a majority-African owned Company in strategic partnership with Mvelaphanda. The Group has been at the leading edge of technical understanding of African exploration frontiers, composed the portfolio of Fusion Oil & Gas that was later acquired, and then created Ophir to rebuild a portfolio of interests now held in the Nigeria-São Tomé-JDZ (Block 3), Nigeria's Bid Round 2005 (with deepwater Blocks OPL 251, and OPL 325: as Operator with Nigerian companies), Gabon in 4 deepwater blocks with 100% interests (Mbeli Marin, Ntsina Marin, Manga Marin, and Gnondo Marin), with 10% back-in rights option on Blocks 2A and 2C on the West Coast of South Africa containing the Ibhubesi gas discoveries, acreage in Tanzania under negotiation for PSA over Block 1 in the deepwater Mafia Basin and Ruvuma Basin, and in Somaliland on the onshore/offshore Berbera PSC (75% held). Ophir also holds wide ambitions, and is in process of discussions on new entries elsewhere in Africa, while the Company's philosophy - unlike for some others - is not restricted to the geography of it origins, and so Ophir may therefore one day take its footsteps into the wider world outside Africa, so becoming Africa's first truly global Independent.
Dr Duncan Clarke (Chairman & CEO, Global Pacific & Partners) said in announcing the Award, presented on behalf of PetroAfricanus by its Corporate Patron for 2005-06 Peter Grant (General Manager, Woodside Energy) that: "Ophir is an African energy player of distinction, one such of few amidst many international competitors and peers, has created an enviable track record, and will leave its mark and deeper footprints on the Continent's oil and gas future".