British oil and gas explorer Chariot Oil and Gas expects to start production in 2013-14 after drilling its first well in offshore Namibia in 2011, its chief executive said.

“We’re looking at first production at 2013-2014 kind of timeframe and then you’ll see the company being usually profitable from that point forward,” chief executive Paul Welch told Reuters.

Welch, who worked for Shell International for 12 years and with independent oil companies for nine years after that, said Chariot Oil is looking to invest in onshore projects in North and West Africa.

The company, which went public in May 2008, currently has eight offshore licences in three exploration blocks in Namibia.

“What we’re trying to do is balance our portfolio with some other assets that are nearer-term production,” said Welch, 47, who took up the top job at Chariot Oil in October 2009. Chariot, which incurred capitalised exploration costs of $17.6 million for the year ended February 28, would substantially bring down the costs to about $5 million to $10 million next fiscal, he said.

“The work programme (in Namibia) is essentially completed for the moment,” he said. The company, which has a working commitment to drill at least three exploration wells in its Namibian blocks, has identified about 26 prospective drilling sites in the blocks, Welch said.