Karra Oil & Gas plans to float on London’s AIM later this year, buoyed by a strategy to fast-track marginal assets in Nigeria’s restive Niger Delta and the resolve of chief executive Tor Langoy to become a pivotal player in West Africa's exploration and production scene.

Langoy loves diving into hazardous waters, having spent an idyllic youth submerged in the cold seas surrounding his hometown of Floro, near Bergen, gateway to the Norwegian fjords.