By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Sept. 1 -- Hardman Resources NL, Perth, Western Australia, took on Northern Petroleum PLC, London, as a new partner off French Guiana.
Northern acquired half of Wessex Exploration Ltd., London, which holds a 2.5% interest in a 65,000 sq km, Hardman-operated permit that covers the country's entire offshore beyond the 12-mile limit. Hardman's interest is 97.5%.
Hardman acquired 7,500 km of 2D seismic data on the permit in 2003 to add to 3,945 km of 2D data that units of Elf, Shell, and Esso acquired in the 1970s. The new data revealed six prospects or leads in excess of 1 billion bbl of potential, Hardman said.
The permit, signed June 1, 2001, contains the requirement for the drilling of an exploratory well by mid-2006.