France’s oil and gas major, Total is to partner with U.S. oil firm Anadarko and Britain’s Cove Energy in Kenya, in a sign that oil majors are starting to see the potential for a new oil and gas region off the coast of East Africa.
Cove Energy said on Wednesday that Total agreed to acquire a 40 percent stake in five exploration blocks in waters off the coast of Kenya.
Interest in offshore East Africa has been gaining momentum since 2010 when Anadarko and Cove made a large gas discovery off the coast of Mozambique. This was soon followed by further finds by British gas firm BG Group off the coast of Tanzania.
“The addition of a company of the calibre of Total to our Kenyan deepwater partnership marks an industry acknowledgement of the significant exploration potential in these blocks,” Cove’s chief executive John Craven said in a statement.
Craven told Reuters in June that “big oil” was looking to gain positions in the company’s Kenyan acreage.
The companies plan to start drilling in deep water off the coast of Kenyain the second half of next year.
Shares in Cove closed at 77.5 pence on Tuesday, valuing the company at 387.9 million pounds ($610 million).
