The Perth-based outfit said the formation of the four-way JV had added 110,000 acres (44,515 hectares) of “prime option” acreage to Surf’s 152,000 acres.

Under the JV terms, Nuenco will acquire a 90% working interest in two new land blocks for no additional consideration. The remaining 10% will be shared among the three partners, which will be free-carried for one well on each block.

Described by Nuenco as “highly prospective”, the new acreage contains an unconventional Miocene oil play that has already produced hundreds of millions of barrels of oil and is productive on the nearby Lost Hills Structure. The potential is estimated at 10-20 million barrels per block.

Nuenco said technical development of this project would begin immediately.

“Now with new option acreage dovetailing into existing option acreage, Nuenco and its partners have a very large footprint over some of the richest oil and gas land in California,” the company said in a release to the Australian Stock Exchange.

“This land position over some of the most prospective parts of the basin will allow the partners to fully test their firm belief that the area is ripe for reappraisal with modern seismic, drilling, completion and stimulation techniques.”