The government of the West African nation will take a 12% stake in the Chinguetti exploitation perimeter that was granted in May.

The terms of the Mauritanian government's participation, including payment of ongoing costs and the effective date of participation and reimbursement of past costs, were defined in the production sharing contract for the PSC-B lease, which includes the Chinguetti exploration perimeter. Specific terms of the contract were confidential.

The government's decision to participate in the exploration perimeter does not extend to the rest of PSC-B, but it has a similar right to buy into each new development in the area.

Woodside and its joint venture partners began their current drilling program in September, with up to 21 holes planned that will bring Chinguetti into production, as well as follow up previous oil and gas intersections and test new targets.

Interests in the Chinguetti exploration perimeter now include Woodside (operator) 47.4%, Hardman Resources 19%, BG group companies 10.2%, Premier group 8.1%, Roc Oil Co Ltd with 3.2%, and the Mauritanian government’s entity, Groupe Projet Chinguetti, 12%.

Meanwhile exploration continues elsewhere in the PSC-B permit zone with the Tiof-4 appraisal well being successfully completed and the Tiof-3 ST2 appraisal well undergoing flow testing.

At Tiof-4 the well has intersected a gross oil column of approximately 113 metees containing several individual sands of variable thickness. The result was in line with pre-drill expectations, said ROC CEO Dr John Doran.

“The net oil pay within the overall gross oil column drilled at Tiof-4 lies within the 10% to 40% range established by the other discoveries and successful appraisal wells in the area,” he said.