Pura Vida Energy, an Australian oil exploration company, has been granted a 12-month extension of the current exploration phase of the Nkembe production sharing contract (PSC), offshore Gabon.
The company holds a 100 percent stake in Nkembe production sharing contract, which contains the Loba oil discovery with 141m gross oil column.
Pura Vida said on Thursday that the extension is until January 2018 with no additional work commitments.
The company said in September that its core objective is to secure funding via a farmout deal, which will enable a near-term drilling program to commercialize the Loba oil field and other prospects withing the Loba complex.
Furthermore, the Australian company said its strategy in Gabon is focused on commercializing the Loba oil field which has the potential to transform Pura Vida from an explorer into a developer and producer.
According to Pura Vida, Loba field could contain 2c recoverable resources of 11.5 million barrels of oil, with a significant upside to more than 30 mmbo if other nearby prospects are included. The company also said that Loba may generate near term cash flow through fast-track development to bring on early production.