FAR holds a 30% stake in the Rufisque Offshore, Sangomar Offshore and Sangomar Deep Offshore blocks. Operator Hunt Oil owns 60% and Senegalese state oil company Petrosen holds the remaining stake.

Acquisition is set to begin in the first week of December. It will immediately follow a 3D survey being acquired by CGG on behalf of the Edison Group, by a separate vessel, in an adjacent offshore block immediately north of FAR’s Senegal interests.

The 3D survey is designed to validate several potentially significant prospects and a number of leads that Hunt identified, based on existing 2D seismic data, as well as additional prospects.

“FAR is pleased to see the 3D seismic contract has been awarded to the French contractor CGG and we look forward to firming up some substantial drilling targets,” executive chairman Michael Evans said.

“It is also reassuring to see the magnitude of interest being shown by the oil sector along the West African coastline where FAR has gained an early foothold on very favourable terms.”

The company’s offshore concessions, located in the Mauritania-Senegal-Guinea Bissau Basin, offer potential for world-class oil accumulations, according to FAR.

“The northwest African margin is relatively under explored but hosts numerous recent, sizeable, and intriguing discoveries, including the Woodside-operated Chinguetti and Tioff discoveries in adjacent Mauritania,” FAR said.

“Large closures have been identified at the Aptian carbonate and Cenomanian sandstone levels, along with numerous Senonian stratigraphic leads with significant upside potential exceeding 1 billion barrels recoverable within the licence.”

The Sangomar-Rufisque offshore licence covers an area of 14,981sq.km over the shelf, slope and basin floor.

FAR claims that the contract terms are among the best in the world, and have been recently improved as a result of the Senegal Government reducing the tax rate to 25%.