United Oil & Gas PLC said Tuesday that the Production Sharing Agreement on the Walton Morant Basin offshore Jamaica, operated by Tullow Jamaica Ltd and in which United has a 20% interest, has been amended to extend the Initial Exploration Period during which a drill or drop decision is required for a further six months.
Tullow Jamaica Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of leading independent oil and gas exploration and production company Tullow Oil plc (LSE: TLW).
The Initial Exploration Period was due to expire on January 31, 2020, at which point a commitment to drill an exploration well would have been required to move into the next phase of the licence. With the extension to the Initial Exploration Period, the Joint Venture now has until July 31, 2020 before the drill-or-drop decision is required.
A Joint Venture farm-down effort being led by Tullow (operator and 80% equity holder) is in progress, with the aim of bringing in an additional partner(s) for exploration drilling in 2021 on the Colibri prospect. A number of interested parties are continuing their evaluations of the licence data, and the extension was granted to provide sufficient time for these to be completed. The extension does not require any additional work programme commitments.
“We are very pleased with the extension that has been granted. We have seen additional interest in the licence towards the end of 2019, and this extension will allow those parties to fully evaluate this excellent opportunity,” said Brian Larkin CEO, United Oil and Gas PLC.
Larkin said the partners in the Basin continue to be excited by the exploration potential in this “super wild-cat area” – not just in the Colibri prospect, but also in the follow-on opportunities that extend across the licenced acreage.
