By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, June 24 – Dominion Petroleum Ltd. will take a 75% operated working interest in the production sharing contract for blocks 4, 5, 6, and 7 of Area 4 off Malta under a draft farmout agreement with Mediterranean Oil & Gas PLC, subject to government approval.
The PSC covers 5,715 sq km in Maltese waters to the recognized Libyan border with both the Cretaceous rift potential of the Melita-Medina graben and the confirmed Eocene carbonate play of North Africa.
Four prospects and five leads are identified, including the Tarxien prospect, a Lower Eocene carbonate buildup. Using Libyan oil field analogs, Tarxien is estimated to have 115 million bbl of gross recoverable unrisked prospective oil resource with an 18% chance of success.
Under the Maltese PSC, MOG holds a 90% operated working interest and Leni Gas & Oil Investments Ltd. has 10%. Dominion’s 75% interest will reduce MOG’s interest to 15%.
Work obligations call for shooting 1,000 sq km of 3D seismic and drilling one exploratory well. Seismic results will enable the JV partners to define and evaluate Tarxien and other identified opportunities prior to a drilling decision. The long-offset 3D will also allow for a clearer analysis of the Pretertiary rift-fill below the Eocene carbonates and potential Cretaceous targets.
The first exploration period runs until January 2013, and MOG estimates that the 3D survey will cost $8-10 million. Two 18-month extensions are available by committing to drill a well in each period. The three most mature prospects are located in Block 7 along the ramp setting of the Melita-Medina graben close to the Libya pelagic basin.
Rendering from Cedar LNG.
US Government Accountability Office.
