Equatorial Guinea's Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons, Ophir Energy and national oil firm GEPetrol have signed a new production sharing contract (PSC) for Block EG-24 offshore Rio Muni.
Block EG-24 (formerly Block EG-20 and Block M) is one of 20 exploration areas marketed during the EG Ronda 2016 licensing round and is to the west of producing fields Ceiba and Okume, covering 3537sq km.
Ophir Energy will operate the block and have 80% interest. GEPetrol will have a 20% stake, with the option to increase this by another 10% if a commercial discovery is made. 2D and 3D seismic data cover large areas of the block.
Ophir is currently building Africa’s first deepwater floating liquefied natural gas project, Fortuna LNG, on Block R in the country.
The Block EG-24 PSC is based on Equatorial Guinea’s model PSC and mandates an initial exploration period of two sub-periods of two years each, plus two extensions of one year each. During the exploration period Ophir will purchase and process existing seismic data and acquire and interpret 3000sq km of new 3D data. The PSC then specifies a development and production period, if a commercial discovery is made, of 25 years with one five-year extension.
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