West African 'Oil Rush' Is On, Reports Gold Star Resources Corp. CEO in AFROIL Online News Column
10 June 2009 - 11:30PM
PR Newswire (US)
VANCOUVER, June 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- West Africa now offers
"unparalleled opportunities" for major and independent oil and gas
companies, writes Patrick Morris, CEO of Vancouver-based Gold Star
Resources Corp. (OTC Bulletin Board: GXXFF; TSX-V; GXX;
http://www.goldstarresources.com/) in the June 10th issue of
AFROIL, Africa Oil & Gas Monitor, an online publication of
Newsbase Ltd., Edinburgh, Scotland read by subscribers in 25
countries (http://www.newsbase.com/; Week 23; page 5 Guest Column).
Morris, author of a news column published in AFROIL entitled "West
African Oil Rush, Challenges", reported that changing geopolitics,
reduced security and political risks, the recent 1.8 billion barrel
discovery in West Africa's largest oilfield, the Jubilee in Ghana,
and a new African foreign policy by recently elected U.S. President
Barack Obama have all helped in making West Africa a "desirable
destination for oil and gas exploration and production." According
to Morris, "For a long time West Africa has been off the radar of
the international community because of messy politics and brutal
civil wars. Also, apart from Nigeria and Gabon, there had been the
disappointing size of oil discoveries made at times of low oil
prices. All this is now changing. Expectations by countries and oil
& gas companies to discover new reserves in the region are
high. Exploration and seismic research activities are underway in
all countries of West Africa bar Burkina Faso and Cape Verde.
Governments are also actively involved. For example, in Liberia,
the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) is promoting oil and
gas exploration and development of its hydrocarbon resources along
its continental shelf and slope. The sub-region is also gaining
global attention as calm has been restored to countries such as
Liberia, Sierra Leone and Cote d' Ivoire, reducing security risks."
"The role of junior exploration companies is to set the trend,"
Morris writes in his news column. " For example, Gold Star
Resources is the first and only junior company to go after onshore
oil and gas opportunities in Cote d' Ivoire and Liberia since the
1970s. Larger players are competing for offshore blocks all along
the coast - but with no plans for any onshore exploration." Gold
Star Resources recently signed a Letter-of-Intent with Bengal Bight
Ghana to acquire 100% of the hydrocarbon rights to the Tiampoum
mining concession, approximately 1,000 square km, in Cote d'
Ivoire. In January, Gold Star entered West Africa when it acquired
90% of the issued and outstanding shares of Liberia's International
Resources Strategies Liberia Energy (IRSLE). DATASOURCE: Gold Star
Resources Corp. CONTACT: Patrick Morris, CEO, Gold Star Resources
Corp., +1-604-641-4450, Web Site: http://www.goldstarresources.com/
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