Santos starting Bangladesh exploration program

May 27, 2011
Santos Ltd. said it plans to spend more than $100 million (Aus.) on a three-well exploration drilling campaign off Bangladesh that it expects to start later this year.

Rick Wilkinson
OGJ Correspondent

MELBOURNE, May 27 -- Santos Ltd. said it plans to spend more than $100 million (Aus.) on a three-well exploration drilling campaign off Bangladesh that it expects to start later this year.
The wells will be drilled on the Block 16 production sharing contract in the Bay of Bengal. Santos operates the block under the supervision of Petrobangla.
Santos says its commitment to the drilling program stems from a recent decision by the Bangladesh government to allow new gas from Block 16 to be sold at directly negotiated prices. Existing production from Block 16 comes from Sangu gas field.
The three wells will target new reservoirs of gas not intersected by the Sangu field development. One of the wells (Sangu-11) will be drilled from the Sangu platform.
The other two wells will target prospects about 5 km from Sangu platform. The company said a fourth exploration well might be drilled on the Magnama prospect .