African pair in White Nile talks

WHITE Nile, the oil minnow set up by former England cricketer Phil Edmonds, is in talks with ministers from two African countries over exploration deals similar to the one it has in Sudan.

They have contacted White Nile since its spectacular launch on Aim last month, with a view to creating a London-listed entity of their own, with Edmonds, centred on their country's assets.

White Nile's shares were suspended last month at 138½p after an 11-fold surge in five days. Despite being little more than a cash shell, it is valued at £200m.

Edmonds and business partner Andrew Groves believe the talks show the structure of White Nile's agreement in southern Sudan could become a global blueprint for exploration deals.

Edmonds told the Evening Standard: 'I believe White Nile has set a precedent.'

His company claims rights to a 60% stake in a 67,000 sq km block in southern Sudan. It is now envisaged the national oil company set up by the provisional government in the south after January's peace agreement with Khartoum will take a 50% stake in White Nile.

The time spent finalising the deal is believed to be the reason its shares have been suspended for so long.