Rick Wilkinson
OGJ Correspondent
MELBOURNE, Dec. 4 -- Melbourne-based Karoon Gas Australia Ltd. has been awarded five contiguous offshore exploration blocks in the Santos basin off Brazil—the same region as the recent 8 billion bbl Tupi oil discovery (OGJ Online, Nov. 16, 2007).
Karoon said the Brazilian permits are 300 km east-southeast of Tupi and 100 km from producing Caravela and Coral oil and gas fields.
The blocks—1037, 1101, 1102, 1165, and 1166—will be officially awarded next March when Karoon pays $25 million in nonrefundable signature bonuses and refundable bid bonds.
Karoon has pledged a work program consisting of geological analysis along with the reprocessing and interpretation of existing seismic data. The company must acquire an additional 170-sq-km 3D seismic survey in three of the permits during the first 3 years. In an optional second 3-year term, one well is committed to each block.
Karoon was one of the successful companies that bid a total $1.5 billion in cash for 117 exploration blocks.
