Afren, the energy firm focused in Africa and the Middle East, has seen the flow of first oil at its Okoro field extension, off the coast of south east Nigeria.

Oil is flowing at a stabilised rate of 5,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd), with an American Petroleum Institute (API) gravity measurement of 38 degrees. With production from the Okoro-14 development well kicking in, total output from the Okoro area has risen to around 21,500 bopd.

"I am delighted that we have commenced early production at the Okoro Field Extension, just nine months after the initial discovery," said Osman Shahensha, Chief Executive of Afren.

"Not only will we see an outstanding economic return from early development wells that utilise existing infrastructure, but we will also gain valuable production experience and reservoir data that will assist in optimising the full field development solution," Shahenshah added.

"We are looking to replicate this early production template at the Ebok North Fault Block discovery as we work towards realising the full production potential of our high quality Nigerian asset base," he added.

Shares in Afren were trading 3.4p higher at 136.5p in the first hour of trading after the announcement.

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