BW Offshore has exercised its right to acquire a further 25% interest in a Gabon oil field.

New joint venture company BW Energy is splashing out $12m to bring its total ownership in the Dussafu production sharing contract to 91.67%.

BW Energy is also providing a seller’s credit of up to $12.5m, while the total capital expenditure to reach first oil in 2018 is around $150m.

Gabon Oil Company (GOC) is in discussions to potentially participate in the project.

Panoro Energy will hold the remaining 8.33% in the Dussafu license, which covers an area of 210,000 acres offshore Gabon.

BW Offshore spent $32m in December to acquire a 66.67% stake in the project.

It said at the time that the drop in oil price has reduced the costs of drilling, which has lowered the break-even price for a Dussafu development.

As TradeWinds reported, BW Offshore could redeploy one of its idle FPSOs in Dussafu, with the Azurite the most likely candidate according to analysts at Arctic Securities.

Shares in BW Offshore were up 1.4% following the announcement, trading at NOK 21.70 ($2.59).

The closing of the transaction is subject to approval from the government of Gabon.

Earlier this month, BW Offshore bought a 56% stake in the Kudu oil and gas field off Namibia.