Nido Farms Into Key Block in NW Palawan Basin

Nido Petroleum Limited

Nido Petroleum Limited (Nido) said that it has successfully farmed in with Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) to Service Contract 58 (SC 58) in the offshore Palawan Basin, Philippines.

Nido will earn 50% through undertaking the agreed work program and will pay 100% of the associated costs comprising pre-drill expenditure of approximately US$8.5 million, principally for seismic acquisition and interpretation up to January 2008.

SC 58 lies at the heart of the Palawan Basin and is considered to be a license with world-class prospectivity. A number of leads have already been identified by PNOC and will add considerably to Nido’s drilling portfolio.

SC 58 is contiguous to Nido’s SC 54 and outboard of SC 14 and SC 6. The service contract is adjacent to the large Malampaya Gas Field and offers not just conventional Nido limestone drilling targets, but also provides access to a major part of the basin’s deepwater Miocene Pagasa Turbidite play fairway.

SC 58 is also one of the largest licenses in the Palawan Basin (1,344,000 hectares), and this farm-in provides Nido with a high-equity position over the majority of the offshore Palawan Basin. This will allow the company and its JV partners to explore the untested deep water potential of the basin. This will increase Nido’s gross acreage in the Palawan Basin by 203% from 661,997 hectares to 2,005,997 hectares.

Nido has been invited to operate during the forthcoming seismic and drilling operations. The exploration work program commences immediately with a 3,500-kilometer, 2D group shoot over both SC 58 and SC 54. PNOC has been taking the lead in this group shoot, and Nido has secured the MV Veritas Voyager to commence acquisition later this month.

The 2D program will be followed by a 3D seismic survey later this year in SC 54, and a subsequent 3D seismic program is planned in SC 58. Nido will operate both seismic acquisition programs.

“We are very fortunate to have secured this enviable acreage position in the Palawan Basin,” said Paul Quaife, Nido’s head of exploration. “Exploration to date indicates the potential of the Miocene Turbidite Fairway to deliver some sizeable prospects, and our new seismic will be our first opportunity to map the fairway in to the deep water where these traps are typically developed. We look forward to working very closely with PNOC in SC 58 and warmly acknowledge our Nido Manila Team for developing relationships critical to this success.”


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