Upland Resources farms out Tunisian exploration costs
Upland Resources said March 16 it had entered into heads of terms (HoT) agreement with Nobel Petroleum subsidiary Pennpetro to farm out its exploration costs in Tunisia's Saouaf permit area.
The Saouaf licence requires the acquisition of 150 km of 2D seismic data and a single exploration well to be drilled to reach the M'cherga formation, at a minimum depth of up to 1,500 metres.
|
Advertisement: The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (NGC) NGC’s HSSE strategy is reflective and supportive of the organisational vision to become a leader in the global energy business. |
Upland and Nobel Petroleum have 50% and 40% interests in Saouaf respectively, alongside 10% stakeholder ETAP, Tunisia's state hydrocarbon company.
Under the proposed farm-in agreement, Upland and Pennpetro will split the former company's exploration costs on a 20% to 80% basis.
Pennpetro Energy would also reimburse Upland for 80% of prior sunk costs in Tunisia, up to a ceiling of £290,000 ($381,000) to be paid in ordinary shares of Pennpetro Energy on the same footing as existing ordinary shares.
Pennpetro would be granted a 45-day first right of refusal on Upland's wholly-owned UK asset holding company, Upland UK, which has non-operated stakes in the UK's Inner Moray Firth and Hardstoft assets. It aims to complete the criteria set out in the HoT "as quickly as possible".
Upland acquired the Saouaf licence in 2019 and said last February it had identified 15 leads across the Eocene, Cretaceous, Jurassic and Pre-Salt layers.
The best-defined structure appears to be a prospect called Pyrite, part of a large isolated carbonate platform developed at the Lower Cretaceous-Jurassic level. Upland has estimated Pyrite's P50 prospected resources at 1.1 trillion ft3 of gas and says there is a 22% chance of success.
Bolhassan Di, chief executive of Upland, said: "The Saouaf Permit although in its early stages, is an exciting prospect, and has a number of leads.
"This heads of agreement with Pennpetro (through its subsidiary Nobel Petroleum USA) means that if the farm out goes through Pennpetro will carry Upland for the remainder of this phase of work and will meet 80% of the costs if the prospecting permit is converted into an exploration permit."