Thursday 6 September 2018

Sapura Energy Bhd, via its wholly-owned subsidiary Sapura Upstream Sdn Bhd, has signed three farm-in agreements for offshore exploration permits held by private Australian oil and gas company, Finder Exploration Pty Ltd.

Under the agreements, Sapura Upstream will acquire a 70% interest in the three exploration permits, and assume operatorship of the exploration, Sapura Energy said in a stock exchange filing today.

Finder, which is based in West Perth, will retain the remaining 30% interest in the permits. All three exploration permits are for locations within the North West Shelf oil and gas province off Western Australia, which Sapura Energy said is "highly prolific".

The EP 483 & TP/25 permit is located in shallow water at the southern margins of the Carnarvon Basin and is close to infrastructure, while the WA-412-P permit is located in the northern region of the Carnarvon Basin and is adjacent to several large oil and gas fields. The AC/P 61 permit is situated at the Vulcan Sub-basin, where it is surrounded by oil and gas discoveries.

Via the farm-in joint venture, Sapura Upstream and Finders plan to drill two exploration wells in the Carnavon Basin permits between 2019 and 2020. It also plans to acquire seismic data in AC/P 61 in 2019.

Completion of the farm-in agreements is subject to the parties securing the required regulatory approvals.