PERTH (miningweekly.com) - Junior oil and gas explorer Sirocco Energy would have capital in place by the end of this month to fund its work programme on Block 14, in the Sudan.

Speaking to Mining Weekly Online, CEO Greg Channon said that the company would raise between A$4-million and A$7-million through a re-compliance prospectus, after the company changed the nature and scale of its activities.

Channon said that the minimum A$4-million would fund the geology and geophysical studies on the newly acquired Block 14, while a higher raising could accelerate further exploration work during the next year, including two-dimensional seismic work.

Sirocco Energy, previously known as Agri Energy, was working to delineate a resource at its Block 14 prospect, in the Sudan, which covers some 100 000 km².

The company acquired a 37.4% shareholding in the tenement area through a 49.9% shareholding in joint venture vehicle Statesman Africa Limited, with TSX-listed Statesman Resources.

Channon noted that Block 14 contained two large, underexplored basins where a large multibillion-barrel inventory of leads was being developed.

“With a block this large and underexplored, it means that you could have a whole oil province that has remained undiscovered in this part of the world,” Channon told Mining Weekly Online.

“We thought it was a great opportunity to be an early mover and get into Sudan as the country tries to rejoin the international community. Since being awarded our shareholding in the block in July of last year, we have seen some activities in the surrounding blocks, which tells me that there is significant interest in the region, and that the area is coming to the attention of international players.”

Channon noted that before the country’s split in 2011, Sudan was producing some 500 000 bbl of oil a day. However, following the split, the majority of Sudan’s producing oil fields and reserves fell within the South Sudan borders.

Only some 25% of the combined country’s resources remained in Sudan, with the country now producing between 120 000 and 140 000 bbls of oil a day.

“So the government is very supportive of grassroots exploration. To date, all of the exploration and production spend has happened in the far south of the country, with only a handful of wells being drilled in the north. So the government is very encouraging of those who want to come and explore,” Channon said.

He noted that with the country’s historic production, Sudan was also equipped with the infrastructure necessary to support a producing oil field as well as exploration activities.

Sirocco was currently working on reprocessing some A$15-million worth of existing data accumulated over Block 14 between 2005 and 2008, and was looking to tender the reprocessing work in the near future.