Eric Watkins
Senior Correspondent
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 2 -- BHP Billiton has acquired an interest in 14 exploration and production licenses off the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic after signing contracts with Falkland Oil & Gas Ltd. (FOGL).
The production licenses cover 18 million acres and lie in 200-2,000 m of water.
BHP holds a 40% interest and is the designated operator of the acreage, which is in the East Falkland basin off the southern and eastern coast of the Falklands. FOGL will hold 60% interest.
The announcement follows recent reports that the UK is preparing to submit a bid to the United Nations to prove that thousands of extra square miles of the surrounding ocean floor are geographically part of the Falklands.
"We are considering the possibility of making a submission to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, but no firm decision has been taken yet," said a spokesman for the UK's Foreign Office late last month. However, Mike Summers, spokesman for the Falkland Islands Legislative Council, said that the hydrographic studies had been under way for several years.
Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].
