Australia’s Cooper Energy has acquired 85% of the Nabeul Permit which lies in the Gulf of Hammamet offshore Tunisia and complements the Company’s established position in the Bargou (COE 85%) and Hammamet (COE 35%) Permits.
The asset was acquired from Capricorn Oil and Gas Tunisia, a 100% subsidiary of Cairn Energy. The asset is valued at US$1.5 million, in addition, Capricorn will receive from Cooper $2 million on the occurrence of each commercial discovery on the permit up to a maximum of $6million and $3 million at the point of production of first oil from those discoveries, up to a maximum of $9million.
Cooper Energy will also assume the Permit work programme obligations, which includes the shooting of seismic to mature prospects and the drilling of one offshore well.
Cooper Energy will hold an 85% working interest in the Permit and be nominated the Operator. Dyas, a private Netherlands based oil and gas exploration and production company that has an asset base in the North Sea and other regions, holds the remaining 15% working interest.
Under the terms of the title agreement ETAP (the Tunisian Government national oil company) have a 50% back-in right to any discoveries. The independent explorers receive a reimbursement of their cumulative exploration costs pro-rata to the ETAP back-in percentage.
The Nabeul Permit lies within a proven petroleum system. Of immediate interest are the Alpha and Gamma leads that are located in the western portion of the Permit.
Michael Scott, managing director, noted “We are pleased to have agreed terms and acquired the Nabeul Permit. In 2005 we bid for the Bargou Permit and the Nabeul Permit together. We won Bargou but Nabeul went to another bidder. The block has now come back to us and the acquisition gives us a substantial strategic foothold over the area. We have a number of leads to pursue on the block and our first job will be to acquire 3D seismic over these leads, which we hope to initiate around mid- 2011.”
Further details on the permit will be announced at the appropriate time, the company said in a statement.
