Bowleven nets £24m from Gabon sale

Shares in Bowleven rose 5 per cent in early trading after the Edinburgh-based oil explorer sold its subsidiary in Gabon to Perenco for $38.6 million (£24.1m).

The company said it will use the cash to focus on its other operations in West Africa.

Earlier this week, shares in Bowleven jumped 20 per cent after it tripled its estimate for the volume of oil it thinks is present in its Sapele exploration field off the coast of Cameroon.

Bowleven chief executive Kevin Hart, who joined the firm in 2006 after serving as finance director at fellow Edinburgh-based explorer Cairn Energy, said: “The disposal enables Bowleven to concentrate its resources on core areas of the business where we believe we can create maximum value for shareholders.

“The cash generated from this sale provides Bowleven with further financial flexibility to pursue the multiple opportunities identified on our Cameroon acreage.”