Looking ahead, Baraka chief executive Max de Vietri said in the company’s quarterly report that it plans to concentrate on “advanced” projects.

“In new ventures, we have been focused on our objective of acquiring projects at advanced to production stage and we are continuing to evaluate a number of opportunities,” de Vietri said.

“Baraka is in the process of forming an alliance with other small companies that are seeking petroleum new venture projects in Africa.”

The alliance is expected to be formalised in first quarter of 2007.

De Vietri said Baraka is also evaluating other potential mineral opportunities that are emerging as a result of its push in the acquisition of advanced oil and gas opportunities in Africa.

The Perth-based company, which released its report today, said the Heron-1 well spudded on October 13 following “many months of planning” and working with operator CNPCI during the quarter.

Drilling of the well is progressing and as of January 29, it had progressed to 3668m, it said.

The company said it expects processing and interpretation of its “groundbreaking” airborne survey in Mali to be completed in the second quarter. Acquisition activities of the survey, one of the largest ever flown by a private company, were finished in November.

An aerogravimetric survey also began in December. Baraka said this work will focus the next phase of the program, a 2D seismic survey later in 2007-08, over identified target areas.

Last November, Baraka signed a farm-out agreement with subsidiaries of oil and gas majors Eni SpA and Sonatrach International Petroleum Exploration & Production (SIPEX) for its five blocks in Mali.

Under the terms of the farm-out, a fully-owned subsidiary of Italian oil and gas company Eni will earn a 50% participating interest and become operator of all five blocks. SIPEX will earn a 25% participating interest in the same blocks.