African Petroleum generates new cash

African Petroleum said Friday it raised roughly $12 million in a share offering and expects more in an effort to raise cash for its West African operations.

Stuart Lake, the chief executive of the company, said he was disappointed that some divestments in Liberia were delayed, but was confident it would find the partnerships necessary to move forward with operations in its West African portfolio.

"We continue to have encouraging and constructive dialogue with a number of potential industry partners across the rest of our highly prospective portfolio," the company said in a statement.

The company, which has headquarters in London, raised $12.5 million in a share sale and aims to raise an additional $2.5 million through future share options.

In the year ending in March, the company said it more than doubled its unrisked prospective oil resources to 11.6 billion barrels in part because of discoveries made off the coast of Gambia, Ivory Coast and Senegal.

In January, the company said total mean risked oil reserves offshore Ivory Coast were estimated to have increased by 118 percent, with Liberian reserve estimates increasing by 33 percent.