China
China National Offshore Oil Corp. signed a production sharing contract with Santa Fe Energy Resources (China) Ltd. for Block 27/10, Pearl River Mouth basin, South China Sea.
Santa Fe, which participates in exploration of six other blocks off China, is committed to invest at least $10 million on the 6,546 sq km block 160 km south of Hong Kong.
Peru
Geopet Asociades SA of Peru signed an 18-month technical evaluation agreement with Perupetro, the state oil agency of Peru, to evaluate Block 18, OGJ Online reported.
The block covers 105,845 ha between Tumbes and Trigal in far northwestern Peru. Geopet will promote the block after completing technical studies.
Sao Tome and Principe
Petroleum Geo-Services ASA, Oslo, signed an exclusive agreement with the government to acquire and sell 3D seismic data as a step for future licensing.
The Sao Tome islands are in the deepwater Gulf of Guinea 200 miles west of Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. The republic has no oil or gas production.
Sao Tome, Principe, and four tiny islands are part of a volcanic chain that extends seaward southwesterly from Cameroon. The chain includes Equatorial Guinea's Bioko Island.
PGS will help the government advise industry of exploration opportunities on the shelf. No licensing timetable was given. The most popular area is expected to be the northern shelf adjacent to oil discoveries in deepwater Nigeria. The northern shelf contains a deepwater extension of the Niger Delta.
Except for the island-adjacent slopes, water off Sao Tome is 3,000-10,000 ft (OGJ, June 29, 1998, p. 88). The slopes drop steeply to 800-1,000 ft of water within a few miles of shore.
The agreement covers all Sao Tome territorial waters, including the Sao Tome-Nigeria Joint Development Zone (JDZ), an area previously disputed. Created recently as a result of negotiations between the governments, the JDZ has yet to be ratified. Once approved, it is expected to provide a legal framework for permitting and promoting exploration on the acreage.
