CNOOC leads charge back into Bissau shelf edge play
Division of Chinese giant said to have joined Svenska in Guinea-Bissau tract
Swedish operator Svenska Petroleum has agreed to farm out partial equity in its Sinapa licence on Block-2 off Guinea-Bissau to China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).
In addition to approving the Block-2 amendment, the Guinea-Bissau Council of Ministers has agreed a draft decree to effect partial transfer of participating interest from Svenska to the same partners for the two Esperanca blocks, 4A & 5A.
UK independent Premier Oil drilled the Sinapa discovery well in 2004 and two dry holes subsequently but Svenska anticipates sinking the bit again shortly with Australian partner FAR Ltd.
They will work with UK well services contractor Exceed to target the Atum prospect, a shelf-edge structure analogous with Cairn Energy’s SNE discovery off neighbouring Senegal.
Atum reportedly extends into contiguous blocks 4A & 5A. All three blocks are estimated to contain some 954 million barrels of oil equivalent, according to Svenska Petroleum.
Fellow operators off Guinea-Bissau, such as Bissau Exploration Company (Block 4B) and Trace Atlantic Oil (Block 5B), are also hunting for joint venture partners to offset the cost of drilling commitments.