Santos grabs Papua New Guinea acreage

Australian LNG player, Santos, signed an agreement to acquire 20 percent interest in Petroleum Prospecting License (PPL) 402 in Papua New Guinea, from both ExxonMobil and Oil Search. 

The license covering an area of 510 square kilometers, and the PPL 402 is located approximately 40 kilometers northwest of the Hides gas field and production facilities, Santos said in a statement on Thursday.

The farm-in results in Santos’ participation in the recently spudded Muruk 1 exploration well. The Muruk 1 well is targeting the Toro Formation, which is gas bearing in the nearby Hides and Juha fields, and is expected to have a mean gas resource of approximately 2 tcf at a proposed depth of approximately  3,450 meters.

The completion of the agreement is subject to regulatory approvals with the terms of the transaction remaining confidential, the statement reads.

Once the farm-in is complete, the PPL 402 participants will be Santos with 20 percent, ExxonMobil with 42.5 percent and the operator Oil Search with a 37.5 percent stake, all through respective affiliates.