Australian oil and gas exploration company MEO Australia is in talks with four companies over the farmout process for its WA-488-P block offshore W. Australia, containing the giant Beehive prospect.
MEO started a farmout process to secure funding partners to progress the technical assessment of, and ultimately drill, the Beehive prospect, following conclusion of the recent seismic reprocessing and inversion project which, MEO says, has reinvigorated interest from major players.
To date, four substantial companies have engaged in the process and are actively reviewing the technical data for WA-488-P. MEO has said it is seeking responses from these potential farminees by the end of October 2016, but timing remains subject to ongoing market conditions and the addition of any new parties to the process.
MEO Managing Director & CEO Peter Stickland said: “The Beehive prospect is one of the largest hydrocarbon structures in Australia, and it is widely recognized that the recent seismic reprocessing and inversion have enhanced the characterization of the prospect. In the current environment, it is encouraging that four companies have actively engaged in the farmout process so far.
MEO says Beehive is potentially a multi-billion barrel, oil prone prospect in the Bonaparte Basin located in 40m water depth next to the producing Blacktip field. It is potentially the largest undrilled oil prospect offshore Australia, developable by either FPSO or pipeline.
Stickland said: “MEO’s ambition is to bring parties into the WA-488-P joint venture to fund the advancement and ultimately drilling of Beehive. Doing so would not only secure an exciting drilling opportunity for MEO shareholders but enable MEO to focus its resources on its Cuba opportunities where it is the only ASX listed company with exposure to the Cuban oil & gas industry.”