RE: Obscure holdings notifications16 Aug 2011 12:06
.... and now 6 companies that have designs on our Northern acreage, another major on board would be a massive vote of confidence on the largest seismic shoot ever done in Namibia. We have even farmed 10% of our central block based on 2D alone, what does that tell you ???
Aug 8 (Reuters) - British oil firm Chariot Oil & Gas is confident of bringing in a partner to help it explore its blocks off the northern coast of Namibia, said its chief executive, after securing BP as a partner on a southern block.
"We have about six companies we're talking to on that. Most of them are majors," said Chief Executive Paul Welch in an interview on Monday.
Chariot is aiming to drill the Tapir North prospect situated on its acreage off the northern coast of Namibia before the end of 2011 in what will be the first well the company has ever drilled.
Welch said he hoped to secure a rig to drill the Tapir North prospect, which geological experts estimate could hold around 2.7 billion barrels of oil, by the end of the summer and added that talks with a possible partner were ongoing.
"I would view it as a foot race between drilling the well and announcing the farm-out," he said.
"We don't need a partner for the exploration well but we'd like one, and the reason we'd like one is given success, we can then immediately move into the development, appraisal phase."
Chariot believes the geology on the Namibian side of the Southern Atlantic ocean is similar to that in the Santos basin off the coast of Brazil, where some of the largest oil discoveries of recent years have been made.
Oil major BP farmed-in to areas off the Southern coast of Namibia earlier on Monday, joining Chariot and Brazilian state oil company Petrobras , to explore block 2714A with the Nimrod prospect the first well to be drilled.
"It will be Q1, Q2 2012, that's what I expect but that's subject to partner approval," said Welch on the timing of drilling Nimrod.
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