Exploration company Tullow Oil has said it will spend €1 billion buying out its partner, Heritage Oil, in Uganda.
Heritage Oil had earlier said it was selling its 50% stake in two projects in the Lake Albert area of Uganda it was exploring with Tullow.
Tullow said it and Heritage had spent €0.5m on drilling to prove 700 barrels of oil in the Lake Albert Rift Basin, and identify 1.5 billion barrels of potential yet to be explored.
The company is also running a farmout process which has attracted a 'significant' amount of interest from major international and national oil companies.
'Tullow is committed to retaining a material stake in Uganda and to continue to invest for the long term,' commented Tullow's CEO Aidan Heavey.
'As we enter the development phase we are working closely with the Ugandan government to introduce a mutually beneficial partner with downstream expertise who is aligned with this long term approach,' he added.
