In partnership with the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC), Nido will earn its stake in Service Contract 58 by paying 100%, or about $US8.5 million ($A11.3 million), of the associated costs of seismic acquisition and interpretation up to January 2008.
SC 58, which lies in the centre of the Palawan Basin, is considered to be a licence with world-class prospectivity, according to Nido.
The company said several leads identified by PNOC would add considerably to its drilling portfolio.
SC 58 is contiguous to Nido’s SC 54 and outboard of SC 14 and SC 6. It neighbours the large Malampaya Gas Field and, in addition to conventional limestone drilling targets, offers access to a major part of the basin’s deepwater Miocene Pagasa Turbidite play fairway.
Covering 1.344 million hectares, SC 58 is also one of the Palawan’s largest licences – allowing the joint venture to explore the untested deepwater potential of the Basin, Nido said.
The farm-in has increased Nido’s gross acreage in the Palawan Basin by 203% from 661,997 hectares to more than 2Mha.
An exploration program will begin later this month with a 3500km 2D group shoot over both SC 58 and SC 54 using the MV Veritas Voyager vessel.
This will be followed by a 3D seismic survey later this year in SC 54, while a subsequent 3D seismic program is planned for SC 58 – both to be operated by Nido.
Nido head of exploration Paul Quaife said the company was “very fortunate to have secured this enviable acreage position in the Palawan Basin”.
“Exploration to date indicates the potential of the Miocene Turbidite Fairway to deliver some sizeable prospects and our new seismic will be our first opportunity to map the fairway into the deepwater where these traps are typically developed,” he said.
Chief operating officer Craig Martin said the farm-in and start of seismic operation was a significant benchmark for the company.
“It represents a ‘coming of age’ for the business following our growth and development over the past two years – Nido is now operational!” he said.
