Dana awarded three PSCs off Mauritania

Mauritania blocks [52,968 bytes]

Dana Petroleum plc, London, has been awarded three production-sharing contracts for license blocks off Mauritania.

Blocks 1, 7, and 8 cover about 34,000 sq km and extend from shallow water to water depths of about 2,500 m beyond the edge of the continental shelf.

Dana is operator and 80% interest holder in the licenses, with Australian independent Hardman Resources NL as 20% partner. Dana took over the PSC applications from a consortium of Hardman and London-based independent Ste. Afrique.

Potential

John Craven, Dana's exploration manager, said that many of the majors have drilled off Mauritania in the past and that, while hydrocarbon shows have been reported, no major discoveries have been made.

"We've got a good deal here," said Craven. "The first phase of the PSC can be split into three-studies, seismic data acquisition, and drilling-with options to withdraw after every stage. Our initial commitment is to study the available data."

Dana said that existing seismic and well data indicate the presence of a large deepwater basin on Block 1, along with evidence of salt tectonics. Blocks 7 and 8 cover a major fan-delta system similar to ones that have yielded major oil fields elsewhere off West Africa.

"Drilling in the deepwater areas is likely to be the main driver of exploration here," said Craven. "Some geological features off Mauritania are similar to ones off Morocco to the north. There, Shell (Royal Dutch/Shell) and Lasmo (Lasmo plc, London) hold licenses and are looking to explore the deep water."

The company has been considering taking licenses off Mauritania for the past 3 years. Craven said the awards have enabled it to secure acreage with low commitment and low anticipated costs, with a view to farming out interests in 1-2 years.

Blocks 2-6 off Mauritania are held by a joint venture of Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Perth, British-Borneo Petroleum Syndicate plc, London, and Hardman.

Elsewhere off West Africa, Dana is operator of the Western Tano license off Ghana and is considering bidding for deepwater prospects expected to be opened up off the Ivory Coast.