Anglo African resumes work at Tilapia asset

Oil and gas developer Anglo African has resumed drilling at its TLP-103C well site in the Republic of the Congo following repairs to the project's contracted drill rig.

Repairs to the asset began after an unscheduled inspection by Anglo African led to a temporary suspension of operations.

Drilling resumed with repaired and reconditioned parts at a depth of 660 metres, with the company now expecting the well to reach target depth by mid-December.

Anglo African also highlighted that drilling contractor SMP had taken all responsibility for the delay, noting it was "entirely their fault" and agreed to pay AAOG compensation for a "substantial amount" of its additional costs.

Executive chairman David Sefton, said: "This delay has been extremely frustrating not only for the company but, more importantly, for its shareholders."

“However, it was clearly the right decision for AAOG to insist on a suspension of drilling pending these repairs rather than risk a serious incident should those parts have failed when intersecting a target horizon."

In a separate statement, AAOG noted that over the weekend it became aware of a "short position" in its shares at Sandabel, which had previously provided an unsecured convertible loan to the AIM-listed firm.

As a result, AAOG negotiated with Sandabel to convert £750,000 of unsecured loan notes at a conversion price of 6.3p.

As of 1130 GMT, Anglo African shares had climbed 6.06% to 7p.