Former executives from Cove Energy Plc have announced they will start an Africa-focussed oil and gas exploration firm after the company was sold for US$1.9bn to Thailand’s PTTE
According to a Bloomberg report, ex-Cove executives including chairman Michael Blaha, CEO John Craven, and finance director Michael Nolan, are expected to be involved.
The company, which is to be called Discover, has secured some private financing and may pursue an eventual initial public offering in London, said the report.
East Africa, where Cove owned 8.5 per cent of the Rovuma-1 exploration block in Mozambique, was attracting interest from global energy companies looking to meet surging demand for energy from Asia.
Laura Loppacher, a London-based oil and gas analyst at Jefferies International, said, “East Africa is one of the biggest positive surprises in terms of exploration in the last few years. Investors in companies doing exploration in East Africa have been rewarded and that naturally makes people want to take another look.”
Bangkok-based PTTE agreed to buy Cove in July 2012 after a five-month takeover battle with Royal Dutch Shell that more than doubled the company’s share price.
