Exploration firm Tullow Oil said government approval of its purchase of assets from Heritage Oil in Uganda is expected "imminently".
Earlier this year, the company said it would buy Heritage's interest in two Ugandan blocks for up to $1.5 billion, but the deal has yet to be approved by the Ugandan government.
Tullow said it intends to bring in China National Offshore Oil and Total SA as partners on the deal.
"The Heritage pre-emption in Uganda is now very close to finalisation and we look forward to working with our new partners, CNOOC and Total, to put together a development plan for the Lake Albert Rift basin," said chief execiutive AIdan Heavey in a statement.
The development plan is expected to deliver production in excess of 200,000 barrels of oil a day by around 2014/2015.
The statement also outlined the company's plans for seven exploration wells in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Mauritania, Guyana and French Guiana. It will invest $1.5 billion in capital expenditure during 2010.
In the first six months of the year, Tullow produced an average of 55,800 barrels a day, with full-year production expected to average between 56,000 and 57,000 barrels a day. Capital expenditure was $600 million.
The company said it was epxecting higher revenues for the six-month period due to rising oil prices. It predicted total revenue for the first half of 2010 of $495 million, compared with $438 million a year earlier.
