(Ecofin Agency) - Pura Vida Energy has been granted a 12-month extension to the current exploration phase of the Nkembe production sharing contract, offshore Gabon.

According to the company, the extension will run till January 2018 with no further work commitments.

The Australian oil exploration company which holds a 100% interest in the Nkembe production sharing contract, which contains the Loba oil discovery with 141m gross oil column.

It said in September that its main goal was to secure finance through a farm-out deal that will guarantee a near-term drilling program to commercialize the Loba oil field and other prospects in the Loba complex.

The company added that its strategy in Gabon is mainly on commercializing the Loba oil field which has the potential to make Pura Vida become a developer and producer, Offshore Energy Today reports.

The explorer stated that Loba field could contain 2c recoverable resources of 11.5 million barrels of oil, with a significant increase to over 30 Mmbo upon the addition of other adjacent prospects. The field may also generate near-term cash flow through the acceleration of development to start early production.

Anita Fatunji