Afren Finds Oil In Offshore Nigeria Well

* Says found 549 ft of net oil pay, 41 ft of net gas pay at well

* To drill another well in offshore Ghana later this month

British oil firm Afren found oil at one of its wells in offshore south east Nigeria, and said it planned to drill another well in offshore Ghana later this month.

Afren, whose main producing fields are in Nigeria but owns assets across Africa, said it found 549 feet of net oil pay -- the zone of a reservoir that contains economically producible oil -- and 41 feet of net gas pay at the Okoro East exploration well.

The company said the well reached a total measured depth of 8,751 feet.

Afren, which shares the well with Amni International Petroleum Development Co Ltd, said logging operations had been completed at the site and the well was being prepared for testing.

Last month, First Hydrocarbon Nigeria (FHN), which is part-owned by Afren, said it had bought a 45 percent stake in Nigerian oil block OML 26 for $147.5 million from Shell , Total and Eni.

Afren's shares, which have gained more than a quarter of their value over the past three months, closed at 115 pence on Monday on the London Stock Exchange, valuing the firm at 1.23 billion pounds ($1.89 billion).

REUTERS