Afren says that the Scheme of Arrangement relating to the Acquisition of Black Marlin Energy Holdings Limited by Afren plc received BVI court approval on 6th October 2010 and that the Acquisition completed on the 7th October 2010.

The total issued share capital of Afren plc pursuant to the Acquisition will be 968,159,864 ordinary shares with voting rights.

In line with the Company's founding pan African strategy, the Acquisition has established Afren with a multi country platform in East Africa, comprising twelve assets across Kenya, Madagascar, the Seychelles and Ethiopia. This is a complementary extension to Afren's existing West African business, enhancing the Company's exposure to the full cycle E&P value chain.

Encouragingly all licenses acquired in connection with the Acquisition are located in basins with proved working hydrocarbon systems, and importantly offer the potential for large scale oil discoveries. Net prospective resources attributable to Afren's interest are estimated to be 1.2 billion barrels.

The Company is well positioned to leverage its West African cash generative production base to test this potential with the drill bit. A multi-well exploration campaign has been defined through to end 2012, and ongoing studies are expected to unlock further prospectivity. To aid this process, following the Acquisition, Afren now benefits from ownership of one of the largest East African seismic databases.

Osman Shahenshah, Chief Executive of Afren, commented: 'The Acquisition of Black Marlin has opened up a new core area of exploration focus for Afren, at a time when the region has yielded significant discoveries, yet remains relatively under explored. It provides Afren with a position of scale, and a unique opportunity to participate in multiple, potentially high impact exploration opportunities that are in balance with our established West African production and asset base.'

Tags: Afren plc