Oil Search, Exxon Buy Stakes in Papuan Gulf Exploration Acreage
12 September 2016 - 5:35PM
Dow Jones News
By Robb M. Stewart
MELBOURNE, Australia--Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and Oil Search
Ltd. (OSH.AU) have agreed to pick up deep-water exploration acreage
in the Gulf of Papua from a company controlled by China's Cnooc
Ltd. (CEO).
Exxon and Oil Search, partners in a gas-export venture in Papua
New Guinea, have agreed to each buy 40% interests in two
exploration licenses from Gini Energy Ltd., Oil Search said Monday.
Gini will retain a 20% interest in each license.
The licenses cover a combined 24,936 square kilometers in water
depths of as much as 2,500 meters.
Peter Botten, managing director of Papua New Guinea-based Oil
Search, said a comprehensive study of exploration opportunities in
2015 and 2016 had identified the offshore Gulf of Papua as a area
of significant natural-gas potential.
Oil Search in July dropped a takeover bid for Papua New
Guinea-focused InterOil Corp. (IOC) after its offer was trumped by
a bid worth about US$2.5 billion by Exxon. U.S.-listed InterOil
holds six licenses to develop energy projects in Papua New Guinea
that cover four million acres, and is part of a Total SA (TOT) led
venture which includes Oil Search that has plans to build a
liquefied natural gas operation.
Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 12, 2016 03:20 ET (07:20 GMT)
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