LONDON (ShareCast) - Osman Shahenshah, chief executive of Afren, has bought £600,000 worth of shares in the Africa-focused oil and gas company, it said today.
He took 500,000 shares at 138.6p each, lifting his holding to about 1.4m shares, which is just less than 0.4% of the company.
Shares in Afren made strong gains over the last year as it moved closer to the oil production stage. Last month the company produced its first oil, from the Okoro Setu project off the coast of Nigeria.
“I am delighted that Afren has achieved its first organic production, a key milestone in the company's history that underlines its operational strengths and technical capabilities,” Shahenshah said.
With a market cap of more than £450m, Afren is one of the largest companies listed on the Alternative Investment Market, a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange. It has operations in Angola, Congo, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Gabon and Nigeria.
It hopes to reach production of 15,000 to 20,000 barrels of oil a day by the end of 2008.
Shahenshah, who has 15 years’ experience working in the African oil and gas sector with companies such as Shell and Total, was part of the management team that founded Afren in 2004.
Afren’s founders also include Rilwanu Lukman, the former secretary general and president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Top Director Buys
Afren (AFR)
Director name: Mr Osman Shahenshah
Amount purchased: 500,000 @ 138.60p
Value: £693,000
RIT Capital Partners (RCP)
Director name: Mr Micky Breuer-Weil
Amount purchased: 10,000 @ 1,140.00p
Value: £114,000
Wincanton (WIN)
Director name: Mr Neil England
Amount purchased: 25,000 @ 291.00p
Value: £72,750
Cosalt (CSLT)
Director name: Mr Mark Lejman
Amount purchased: 30,000 @ 242.00p
Value: £72,600
Hallin Marine Subsea International (HMS)
Director name: Mr Anthony G Ebel
Amount purchased: 35,000 @ 149.40p
Value: £52,290
Newmark Security PLC (NWT)
Director name: Mr Maurice Dwek
Amount purchased: 3,000,000 @ 1.70p
Value: £51,000
Volvere (VLE)
Director name: Mr Nicholas Lander
Amount purchased: 58,992 @ 70.00p
Value: £41,294
Volvere (VLE)
Director name: Sir Stanley Kalms
Amount purchased: 58,992 @ 70.00p
Value: £41,294
Volvere (VLE)
Director name: Mr Jonathan Lander
Amount purchased: 58,992 @ 70.00p
Value: £41,294
Top Director Sells
Cape Lambert Iron Ore (CLIO)
Director name: Mr Timothy P Turner
Amount sold: 557,858 @ 41.38p
Value: £230,842
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