British oil services company Petrofac said it will spend up to $75 million doubling its stake in Seven Energy, the Nigerian oil explorer in which it first invested last year.
Petrofac, which builds oil infrastructure in the Middle East but also has a division which invests directly in energy assets, said on Friday the latest investment would take its stake in Seven to 24.5 percent from 12.6 percent.
The company first invested in the Nigerian firm in November, when it paid $100 million for a 15 percent interest, or 12.6 percent on a fully diluted basis.
“We have worked closely with Seven Energy’s team since we made our initial investment. This has increased our confidence in the value of their existing and potential portfolio of oil and gas assets,” Gordon East, managing director of Petrofac’s Production Solution division, said in a statement.
Petrofac said working with Seven in Nigeria in the last six months had helped it identify opportunities to build a presence in Africa’s biggest oil producing nation.
Seven Energy is planning to float on the London Stock Exchange in 2012.
