Vaalco eyes more African growth

The independent plans further Africa-focused expansion and shrugs off the recent coup in Gabon

"We are starting to see some of the significant synergy and operational efficiency benefits from the acquisition [of Calgary-based Transglobe] now coming through," said Vaalco CEO George Maxwell. The Houston-headquartered independent’s portfolio includes assets in Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Egypt and Canada. The efficiency gains and cost savings were particularly notable in the company’s Egyptian and Canadian operations, where the 2023 drilling campaigns were completed well before the end of the year and below capex budget. The firm’s processing structure in Egypt was reconfigured and debottlenecked, while in Canada Vaalco adopted a strategy to acquire more land around the project to carry ou