U.S. oil and gas exploration company Kosmos, together with its Portuguese partner Galp, are reportedly preparing a seismic survey offshore Sao Tome and Principe.
According to Macau Hub news website, the news was revealed by the island nation’s director of National Oil Agency, Orlando Sousa Pontes.
He reportedly said the 3D seismic surveys over blocks 6, 11 and 12 in the Gulf of Guinea would begin early in January 2017 and would take six months.
Offshore Energy Today has reached out to Kosmos Energy, seeking confirmation of these reports. We will update the article if we get a response.
The news of the potential seismic survey comes just a day after Nigeria’s Oando Energy said its subsidiary Equator Exploration had farmed out the majority ownership it its Blocks 5 and 12, in Sao Tome and Principe to Kosmos Energy. Kosmos now owns operatorship over both blocks, with a 65% percent in each block.
The U.S.-based oil exploration player has been using the industry down-cycle to build up its exploration portfolio. This is not the company’s first acquisition in Sao Tome and Principe.
In October 2015, Kosmos bought an 85% participating interest and operatorship in Block 11 offshore Sao Tome and Principe. The national petroleum agency, Agencia Nacional Do Petroleo De Sao Tome E Principe (“ANP”), has a 15% carried interest.
A month later, in November 2015, the company closed a farm-in agreement with Galp to acquire a 45% non-operated participating interest in Block 6 offshore Sao Tome and Principe.
Galp last year said that it had committed to perform several exploration activities over the Block 6, including seismic acquisition, during the first exploration period of four years.
Block 6 is located in São Tomé and Príncipe Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in water depths of up to 2,500 metres (m) and covers an area of 5,024 square kilometers.