London-based, Africa-focused explorer Afren has suspended CEO Osman Shahenshah as well as Chief Operating Officer Shahid Ullah pending the results of an investigation into unauthorized payments, the company announced on 31 July 2014.
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| Afren CEO Osman Shahenshah |
The board hired law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher (UK) LLP to conduct the independent investigation, and Afren made the suspension announcement in lieu of releasing its 1H 2014 results, which have been postponed until 4 August due to the shake up and details unearthed during the investigation.
“Evidence has been identified of the receipt of unauthorized payments potentially for the benefit of the CEO and COO,” Afren’s 31 July announcement said. “These payments were not made by the company. The investigation has not found any evidence that any other board members were involved.”
Afren board member Egbert Imomoh will rise to executive chairman while Senior Independent Director Toby Hayward will serve as interim CEO until the investigation concludes.
Shahenshah co-founded Afren in 2004 with Ethelbert Cooper. Boasting over 25 years experience in the oil and gas industry, Shahenshah began his career with Credit Suisse First Boston. He holds a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master’s degree from Columbia University, and a Bachelor’s degree from Brown University.
Prior to joining Afren as its COO, Ullah worked at Western Atlas and Baker Hughes. He holds a degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Texas.
Afren holds interest in acreage offshore Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and Kenya, Seychelles, Tanzania, and South Africa.
The company recently completed a 3D seismic survey off OML 113 in Nigeria this May to establish the full extent of the syn-rift play and further dip-closed structures to the north and east of the Ogo discovery.
Afren holds 74% interest in the Tanga block located both on and offshore Tanzania. The company and its partners are looking to secure a rig to drill the shallow water Chungwa-1 prospect in 2H 2014. The Chungwa-1 well will test Tertiary, Cretaceous and Jurassic reservoirs, targeting Pmean resources of 300MMbo. Mean prospective resources on the block are currently 1.9 Billion bbl, Afren says.
Last year, Afren acquired interest in Blocks CI-523 and CI-525 offshore Ivory Coast with 20% and 51.75%, respectively. The company said the first three-year exploration phase on both blocks involves undertaking an extensive 1800sq km 3D seismic acquisition program in 1Q 2014 followed in 2015 by the drilling of an exploration well.
Afren also holds acreage in blocks L17 and L18 in the Lamu coastal basin, offshore southeast Kenya. Acquisition of 1207km of 2D data in the deeper water portions of Blocks L17 and L18. In late 2012, Afren completed acquisition of 1006sq km of 3D data, and the 3D was processed in July 2013.
In South Africa, Afren holds 25% working interest in the shallow water Block 2B, located in the Orange River Basin, between the Ibhubesi gas field and the Namaqualand coast. The block covers approximately 5000sq km with water depths ranging up to 820 ft.
In Seychelles, Afren hold 75% interest in Area A and B in shallow to deepwater in the northern half of the Seychelles plateau. Both blocks cover a combined area of approximately 14,319sq km. Afren says gross un-risked prospective resources for the two areas are estimated at 2.9 billion boe.
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