African Petroleum has obtained a 2-year licence extension for a pair of deepwater blocks off Liberia into a second exploration phase.

Through its subsidiary European Hydrocarbons, the company has been granted another two years to explore LB-08 and LB-09, with the licence period now extended to June 2016. Approval was given by the National Oil Company of LiberiaNOCAL – and it means that a two-well obligation during the second exploration period in LB-08 is moved back to a third phase.

Africa says it will work with NOCAL to carry out a further exploration programme, which will include the acquisition of 3-D seismic data.

In September 2011 the company declared it had encountered oil shows with its first well, Apalis-1, drilled in LB-09. A second oil discovery was announced in LB-09 in February 2012 with the Narina-1 well, which hit 21 m (69 ft) of net oil pay in Turonian sands and another 11 m (36 ft) in an Albian zone. Then a third well, Bee Eater-1, in January 2103 encountered oil bearing sands but was not tested due to low permeability.

Africa has been remapping 3-D seismic data since then, while several prospects have been matured for drilling in LB-08 later this year.