MAUREL & PROM HAS announced a fresh oil discovery in Gabon as it posted surging 2008 profits and reaffirmed plans to buy up assets made cheaper by a sharp drop in oil prices. "We are looking at farm ins, or partnerships in another companys oilfield,” chairman Jean-Francois Henin.
"The current circumstances have made conditions much more advantageous." "We are also looking at what can be done with distressed companies. To this day, we have not found anything interesting but we do not doubt opportunities will arise there," he said. "With the start-up of production from Onal in Gabon and the prospects for developing the neighbouring fields, Maurel & Prom's production by the end of 2009 should reach a level closely equivalent to the level at the end of 2008 and up by one-third compared to the 2007 entitled production," the company said recently.
M&P said 2008 operating profit quadrupled to US$126.5mn on sales up one-third to US$511mn, helped by a sharply higher oil price in the first three quarters of the year.
