Upland Resources (UPL) announced on Monday it signed the Saouaf hydrocarbon exploration and appraisal licence in northern Tunisia.
It has a 50/50 joint interest with its subsidiary Upland Saouaf and the Tunisian state oil company, Entreprise Tunisienne d'Activités Pétrolières (ETAP).
The company said it had previously received unsolicited expressions of interest from several companies “including major international and national oil & gas companies”, but now has permission to actively market participation to potential farminees.
The "highly gas-prospective" Saouaf Licence covers 4,004 km2 with field visits revealing the presence of additional surface oil seeps that indicate a significant oil play.
Shares in Upland rose 15% to 2.05p each following the news
Upland said that there is strong demand for gas, attractive wholesale gas prices, and existing gas pipelines with spare capacity plus access to existing local gas markets.
Steve Staley, CEO of Upland Resources Limited, said: "The Board of Upland is pleased to announce the signature of the Saoauf Licence. This enables us to move forward with our plans in the Saouaf Licence area whilst we continue to pursue other ventures in Tunisia, Sarawak and the North Sea."
The licence is for a two year initial term that can be converted and extended by Upland if the work commitments are fulfilled.
The Saouaf licence is estimated to have recoverable resources of approximately 2 TCF of gas and 42 MMbbl oil across thirteen prospects and leads, with the Dekrila gas discovery alone estimated to have a 227 BCF recoverable resource.
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