Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd. through its 100% owned subsidiary Azinam South Africa Limited,is set to farm into Block 1 offshore South Africa in Namibia’s Orange basin. The company is set to get 75% Working Interest (“WI”) from Tosaco Energy (Proprietary) Limited and will become operator of a new Exploration Right.
Tosaco intends to transfer its remaining 25% Interest to OrangeBasin Oil and Gas (Proprietary) Limited – a newly formed South African entity with a Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (“B-BBEE”) rating.
The condition of the farm-in acquisition, shows that $150,000 is payable upon signing, $225,000 upon issuance of Section 11 government title transfer, and $375,000 is payable upon a TSX-V/AIM compliant resource report to be commissioned by the AIM-listed firm, which will carry the remaining 25% interest through the budget and work program for the first three years up to an agreed sum of $2.3 million of a total work program.
The block is said to already possesa complete 2D and 3D seismic data and no additional seismic acquisition or drilling of wells planned in the three-year carried period, Eco will complete the interpretation and analysis required for its planned work program with its in-house exploration team during this period.
The acquisition is however, subject among others, to standard governmental approvals. Currently, no planned field activity requires environmental permitting.
Colin Kinley, Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Eco Atlantic, commented: “The Orange Basin continues to prove to be one of the newest and most prolific plays in the world and is running similar statistics to our Guyana play. Following completion of this farm-in, Eco will have one of the largest blocks in the entire Orange Basin.
“This is a strategic play for Eco that we have worked on over the past year, focussing on both oil and gas potential, and where we believe there are significant near shore prospective gas resources. There are inboard gas discoveries on the block, Kudu to the North, and multiple discoveries in the Ibhubesi field to the South.”
With a 19,929km2 in area coverage, the Block 1 is located in the Orange basin on Namibian border in South Africa. While the eastern side of the triangular-shaped block is approximately 174 km off the South African shoreline, the block stretches out some 263 km west into deep water in the Orange basin.
“With the reach of the block some 250 km out into the Atlantic, this puts the west end of the block into highly prospective opportunities for oil being just south and on trend with Shell’s Graff discovery and Galp’s Mopane discoveries, and North of our 3B/4B Block oil targets recently farmed out to TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy,” added Kinley.