Niger: Savannah Petroleum lists on AIM

Shares in new Niger player Savannah Petroleum began trading on London’s Alternative Investment Market on 1 August, raising £29.3m ($50m). The company signed a production-sharing contract (PSC) on 3 July for the R1/R2 Area, which covers 30.5% of the original Agadem permit relinquished by China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) in June 2013. The Agadem permit has seen an estimated 77 discoveries from 99 exploration wells over the past five years. CNPC began production in 2011, and farmed down a 20% stake in the Agadem licence to Taiwan’s CPC Corporation in early 2013.