A unit of OMV AG has signed a definitive farmout agreement to earn a 40% interest from Niko Resources Ltd., Calgary, in the Grand Prix PSC in Madagascar.
Niko will retain a 35% working interest. Closing is subject to government approval. Niko expects nearly a combined $40 million in proceeds from this agreement and an unrelated Indonesia farmout with Hess Corp.
The Grand Prix block covers 4.2 million acres off Madagascar’s central west coast. This part of the Morondava basin is underlain by deepwater fan systems and a Mesozoic rift system.