Santos Ltd. and Inpex have been awarded an 83 sq km block in Browse basin northwest of giant Ichthys gas-condensate field offshore Western Australia.

The WA-504-P permit lies in 400 m of water 500 km north-northeast of Broome. Santos is operator with 60% interest, while Inpex holds the remainder.

Inpex says the exploration permit will help maximize the potential value of its developing Ichthys LNG project.

Inpex was awarded another permit, WA-502-P, in May (OGJ Online, May 20, 2014).