FAR acquires additional interest in offshore Gambian blocks
FAR Ltd., Perth, has acquired an additional 10% interest in the prospective exploration Blocks A2 and A5 offshore Gambia in West Africa.
FAR now has a 50% working interest and operatorship. PC Gambia Ltd., a subsidiary of Malaysian national company Petronas, has the other 50%.
The permits lie directly south and on trend with the SNE oil and gas discovery offshore Senegal in which FAR also has an interest.
Samo-1, an earlier well drilled by FAR on Block A2, was plugged as a dry hole, but it did find oil shows at several levels indicating the potential presence of an active hydrocarbon system.
FAR said it had since conducted extensive geotechnical studies that have led to the identification of additional target intervals to those mapped prior to the drilling of Samo-1.
FAR said the Gambian government has issued two licenses such that the A2 and A5 permits now have a 3-year initial exploration period plus two optional extension periods of 2 years each.
There is a commitment to drill one well in the first 2 years on either block and to acquire 450 sq km of 3D seismic in the first 3 years.
A signature bonus of $4.5 million has been paid for the two licenses.
A 3D survey is planned late this year to further delineate some newly identified prospects. The next well is planned for 2020.