Exploration firm Tullow Oil said it had performed strongly in 2010 and it expects the purchase of assets from Heritage Oil in Uganda to be approved by the government by the end of the month.
The company also plans to bring in partners on the project.
"We understand from the government itself that we will have approval before the end of May," chief
executive Aidan Heavey said in an interview today.
Earlier this year Tullow said it would buy out Heritage's interest in two Ugandan blocks for up to $1.5 billion. China National Offshore Oil and Total SA will each take stakes in Tullow's blocks once approval is given.
"We have completed the documents as far as Tullow is concerned on both fronts," Mr Heavey said. "We can't farm down until we have completed the Heritage deal."
The company is expanding drilling capacity in Uganda to boost oil output to more than 200,000 barrels a day when commercial production starts in the fourth quarter of next year.
Mr Heavey said there would be a faster development of the Lake Albert Rift Basin.
"We need to appraise all fields and we need to drill all the other exploration prospects as quickly as possible," he said.
Other projects such as the Nzizi gas development project and Kasamene field, remain on track.
In the UK, gas production is ahead of schedule, the company said. "A well performance optimisation campaign on the Schooner and Ketch fields yielded excellent results and the Thames fields have performed strongly," Tullow said in an interim management statement.
It said production guidance for the company was being maintained at 55,000 - 57,000 boepd. Capital expenditure for the year is predicted to be around $1.6 billion.
The company completed a £925 million share placing in January.
Additional reporting : Bloomberg