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(Sharecast News) - Corcel said on Thursday that it has received full ministerial approval to begin seismic acquisition and exploration drilling at its KON-16 block in Angola, marking a key operational milestone for the AIM-traded energy company.
The explorer said the Angolan government had granted final approval of its environmental impact assessment, issuing a full environmental licence covering both seismic and drilling operations at KON-16.
It also said it had signed a contract with BGP Geophysical and BGP Inc, a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation, for services related to its upcoming 2D seismic acquisition programme.
Under the agreement, BGP would acquire 326 line-kilometres of 2D seismic data over the onshore block.
Seismic processing was expected to take place in the first quarter of 2026, with initial results anticipated in the second or third quarter.
Corcel said the contract for seismic processing was expected to be awarded before the end of this year.
With both the environmental approvals and seismic contract in place, operations at KON-16 were set to begin shortly, the board said.
The new 2D seismic programme would expand existing coverage in the block by more than 200%, significantly improving subsurface imaging and prospect definition as it prepared to drill a high-impact exploration well.
"Receiving approval to conduct both seismic acquisition and exploration drilling activities within the KON-16 block is a major milestone for Corcel, setting us on the path to drilling a high-impact exploration well," said chief operating officer Richard Lane.
"We are also very excited to have signed the seismic acquisition contract with BGP - another major milestone - marking Corcel's first significant operational activity as operator of the KON-16 block."
He added that the mobilisation of the seismic team and the imminent start of the seismic programme signalled the real start of on-the-ground operations.
"This is an important step for Corcel as we move from planning to execution, and we look forward to keeping shareholders updated as activity ramps up."
Corcel said the seismic campaign had been designed to target prospects identified through integration of legacy 1970s data, 2010 reprocessed seismic, and high-resolution gravity gradiometry data acquired in 2024.
At 1400 GMT, shares in Corcel were up 3.77% at 0.36p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.