Taipan seeks $10m in damages from Afren over Kenya licence

Taipan Resources’ subsidiary Lion Petroleum is seeking at least $10m in damages in an arbitration case against East African Exploration (Kenya) (EAX).

EAX, a subsidiary of Afren, has been alleged of making several breaches to the joint operating agreement (JOA), which was signed with Lion for the Block 1 oil field licence in Kenya.

The request for arbitration complies with Article 4 of the Rules of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce.

Taipan claims that EAX failed to undertake joint operations or meet minimum work obligations and did not follow petroleum industry practices.

The company has also alleged that EAX failed to follow agreed contract award procedures and accounting procedures.

Taipan, via Lion Petroleum, owns a 20% working interest in 22,246km² Block 1. EAX holds the remaining 80% stake.

EAX has a two-well commitment in the current exploration period that ends on 8 October 2016.

Taipan currently has an estimated total mean net unrisked prospective resource of 768 million barrels of oil equivalent.

The company is undertaking a growth strategy on acquiring large play positions and operating through discovery and appraisal.