Victoria Oil & Gas Plc aims to secure the first sales from its Logbaba gas project in Cameroon around the middle year, Executive Director George Donne said.
Donne also said the AIM-listed company was looking to invest up to $40 million in a gas processing plant and a 12-km (7.5-mile) pipeline to transport gas to the industrial area of Cameroon's economic capital Douala.
"We are targeting the first sales of gas in the middle of this year -- that is if the drilling goes well and we can get everything in line with the administration in terms of approval of the pipeline and processing facility, and an exploitation licence," Donne said.
"We aim to invest around $30-40 million in the processing unit and the pipeline," he said, adding that the company had approached banks including Nedbank of South Africa, France's BNP Paribas and Societe Generale over financing.
"We plan to put in a gas processing plant at the project site and construct our own pipeline which will run from our site down to the industrial area in Douala where we have a number of customers," he said.
The Logbaba field was discovered in the 1950s and all four exploration wells have encountered gas. Three of the wells flowed gas at rates of up to 62 million cubic feet per day.
In an update last week, Victoria said that logs at Well La-105 in Logbaba showed at least 65 feet (20 metres) of very good quality sandstone pay with additional potential of a further 260 feet.
The gas will be welcomed by local industries, which currently rely on high-cost imported liquid fuels. Donne said most of them have expressed strong interest in the VOG gas.
This will help cut the high energy bills of the local industry, put into use equipment that has been standing idle, and enable some companies to increase their productivity.
Donne said for now he could not say what the daily output will be because the company is still doing testing and the results are expected next month.
