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AUSTRALIAN-BASED Nido Petroleum Ltd. bared Monday a
12,000-hectare extension project to the north-east of
Service Contract 54 (SC54) by relinquishing an
equivalent area from the less prospective southeastern
boundary.
Nido
said the new acreage will include the Signal Head oil
discovery and additional exploration potential.
Following grant of authority for the extension,
according to Nido, it will commence acquiring seismic
data over this area immediately, using the Pacific Titan
seismic vessel.
Joanne
Williams, Nido deputy managing director, said they were
keen to include this acreage in the current work program
because of its potential to contribute to the
Philippines’s
2010 energy self-sufficiency targets.
Williams
also expressed excitement to start work immediately on
the evaluation of this area. “Nido will start acquiring
seismic [data] tomorrow. The rapid inclusion into our
ongoing seismic program is evidence of the outstanding
commitment of our team and our joint venture partner
Kairiki Energy Ltd. to maximizing the potential of this
area,” said Williams.
With the
addition of the Signal Head oil discovery to the asset
base, the total number of undeveloped oil discoveries in
SC54 increases to three.
Williams
said the cluster of discoveries and leads in shallow
water offers near-term production potential and provides
the next development focus for Nido after Galoc
production is brought online.
She said
two wells have been drilled in this area that revealed
hydrocarbon potentials. Signal Head 1 and 2 wells were
drilled in 1977 and 1979, respectively.
Both
wells were drilled in around 70 meters of water and
targeted Lower Miocene reef structures, similar to those
at the productive Nido and Matinloc oil fields.
Signal
Head was listed as a discovery with oil shows. At the
time Signal Head was regarded as uneconomic.
Under
the plan, the northeastern boundary of SC54 will be
extended by 12,000 hectares to capture the Signal Head
oil discovery. An equivalent area will be relinquished
in the less prospective southeast area of the contract
in order to maintain the total service contract area. |
