Australian oil and gas explorer FAR Ltd, which holds a stake in oil drilling licenses off the West African coast of Guinea-Bissau, has announced that a unit of China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) will take a majority stake in the projects
Under the terms of the farm-out agreement, a 55 per cent interest in Sinapa and Esperanca licenses will be assigned to CNOOC West African Petroleum E&P SA from Sweden’s Svenska Petroleum Exploration GB.
FAR will continue to hold a 21.42 per cent stake in each license.
Svenska will retain a reduced participating interest of 23.03 per cent and will continue to act as an operator while CNOOC may choose to assume operatorship at the conclusion of the upcoming offshore drilling campaign.
Completion of the farm-out agreement is subject to approval by the government of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau and customary joint venture consents.
FAR’s Managing Director Cath Norman said, “We look forward to progressing the Guinea-Bissau acreage now that CNOOC has farmed into the project. Attracting a National Oil Company such as CNOOC shows the confidence that another major company has in FAR’s Guinea-Bissau acreage.
“CNOOC brings a wealth of technical and operational expertise and experience, and we look forward to finalising the details of the future drilling plans that are expected to begin early 2020. We welcome CNOOC to the joint venture and look forward to a long and successful relationship.”
