Tap Oil Farms Out Stake in Australian Permits

Tap Oil’s wholly owned subsidiary Tap (Shelfal) Pty Ltd has entered into an agreement with JX Nippon Oil and Gas Exploration's Australian subsidiary to farmout a portion of its interests in Exploration Permits WA-320-P and WA-155-P (Part II).

WA-320-P is an exploration permit in the offshore Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia. The permit contains the Palmerston gas prospect. 

The Palmerston gas prospect straddles these two permits and may be drilled as early as the first quarter of 2014, Tap Oil said in a statement.

Tap will farmout 10% of its interest in WA-320-P and 7% of its interest in WA-155-P (Part II) in exchange for a 5% carry on the Palmerston well (up to a total well cost of $70 million). Following the farmout, Tap will retain a 9.778% interest in WA-320-P and a 6.555% interest in WA-155-P (Part II).

This transaction follows on from the equity swap in WA-320-P and WA-155-P (Part II) that provided Tap Oil with access to the entire Palmerston gas prospect.