UK White Nile signs Ethiopia oil deal

ADDIS ABABA, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Ethiopia has signed an oil exploration deal with Britain's White Nile (WNL.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) for the Omo and Chew Bahir Basins in the south of the country, the Ministry of Mines and Energy announced on Wednesday.

"The agreement enables White Nile to carry out petroleum exploration and development over a 29,465 sq km (11,380 sq mile) area ... in the Omo and Chew Bahir areas considered to be with great petroleum potential," it said.

The firm and ministry officials have been evaluating petroleum potential in the region under an agreement they signed in 2007, the ministry said in a statement.

The company has also acquired other exploration rights in Southern Sudan and Northern Kenya, areas that are geologically similar to that of Ethiopia's rift basin, the ministry said.

Twelve oil prospecting companies are exploring in different parts of Ethiopia; in the west bordering Sudan, in the Ogaden and the Nile Basin in the north, officials said. (Reporting by Tsegaye Tadesse)