AEI aims to lift fog surrounding Ibhubesi

A visitor takes in the last of the day's light as a seasonal fog engulfs Cape Town as the city prepares for the start of the southern hemisphere winter

Seasonal changes: A man takes a walk above a fog-covered Cape Town.

REUTERS/SCANPIX

By IAIN ESAU London

 10 May 2012 22:59 GMT

SOUTH Africa’s long-mooted Ibhubesi gas project looks to have finally been handed a fresh lease of life after ambitious Frankfurt-listed player African International Energy (AEI) paid a deposit as part of a planned 2.1 billion rand ($271 million) deal to buy Forest Oil and Anschutz’s stakes in the field.

Payment of a 79 million rand deposit signals AIE’s intent to use Ibhubesi’s gas to feed a new power station, infrastructure that is much needed in a country starved of adequate and consistent energy supplies.

AEI has been in talks with Forest Oil and Anschutz, both based in Denver, since 2010, so the acquisition has been a long time coming.

Asked why the talks took so long, AEI chief executive Aldworth Mbalati told Upstream: “We wanted to make sure we were comfortable with the deal and secured the best return possible for our…

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