Advance Energy eyes expansion opportunities

Quality oil assets can still attract funding and interest even amid the current ESG environment, says Advance CEO

Timor-Leste’s Buffalo field is a “barn burner of an opportunity” says Leslie Peterkin, CEO of UK-headquartered Advance Energy, which recently farmed into the licence. Advance bought 50pc of the decommissioned Timorese oilfield from Australian independent Carnarvon Petroleum and agreed to put up to $20mn towards appraisal drilling works. The company was able to raise funds for the move at a challenging time for the wider oil sector as it “has a very different risk profile” to other companies, Peterkin explains to Petroleum Economist. Buffalo fit the company’s four main criteria for an asset of interest, which also partly explain why Advance is less exposed to risk than other upstream firms.