United Oil Secures Two-Year Extension for Jamaican Asset

United Oil Secures Two-Year Extension for Jamaican Asset
United said it has resumed talks with selected parties who had previously expressed interest before the farm-out process was suspended in December 2024.
Image by bogdanserban via iStock

United Oil & Gas Plc has secured an early two-year extension to the Walton Morant license offshore Jamaica.

The license for Walton Morant, where United holds a 100 percent working interest, has been extended to January 31, 2028, the company said in a news release.

United said it has resumed talks with selected parties who had previously expressed interest before the farm-out process was suspended in December 2024. The company has also begun discussions with other groups who have expressed interest.

According to United, the Walton-Morant license is comparable in scale and geological potential to ExxonMobil's prolific Stabroek Block in Guyana, where over 11 billion barrels of recoverable oil have been discovered. Like Stabroek, Walton Morant features large structural traps with high-quality reservoir potential but remains substantially underexplored, presenting a “compelling investment opportunity,” the company stated.

The 22,400-square-kilometer Walton-Morant block hosts over 40 identified leads and prospects. Eleven of these have been independently verified by Gaffney-Cline in a prospective resources report, collectively estimated to hold over 2.4 billion barrels of unrisked mean prospective resources, according to the release.

Internal estimates from UOG and previous operators indicate that the license's total exploration potential could exceed 7 billion barrels, the company said.

United CEO Brian Larkin said, "The Walton Morant Licence presents a compelling frontier exploration opportunity for investors, offering exposure to a world-class frontier basin with multi-billion-barrel potential. Securing this early license extension until 31 January 2028, is crucial to progressing our work program, and ensuring stability and regulatory certainty sought by potential farm-in partners”.

“With multiple parties now under NDA [non-disclosure agreements] and re-engagement with previously interested parties, we are well-positioned to secure the right strategic partner to help unlock this asset's potential. Our current work program is designed to further de-risk the licence, and with returning sentiment to high-impact frontier exploration opportunities, the Walton Morant License stands out as an exceptional investment case,” Larkin added.

Withdrawal from Egypt

In October 2024, United completed its withdrawal from its Egypt assets.

The company successfully completed all the paperwork to fully withdraw from its 22 percent stake in the Abu Sennan Concession effective January 1, 2024. In satisfaction of outstanding cash calls related to the concession, United said it has agreed to transfer to the non-defaulting parties of Kuwait Energy Egypt Limited and Global Connect LTD $220,000 from its receivables balance of approximately $840,000 due from the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC).

"We are pleased to have reached an agreement with Kuwait Energy and Global Connect, allowing us to withdraw from the Abu Senna concession. Our continued discussions with EGPC regarding the outstanding receivables are also encouraging, and we expect [a] resolution shortly. We wish our former Join Venture partners all the best in their future endeavors,” Larkin said in an earlier statement.

"We can now focus our efforts on growth opportunities, particularly in Jamaica. Our farmout discussions are progressing well, and our team is making excellent headway with selected parties. We look forward to providing further updates to shareholders shortly,” Larkin added.

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