《TAIPEI TIMES》 CPC Corp signs a deal to explore oil area in Somaliland

By Lisa Wang / Staff reporter

CPC Corp, Taiwan （CPC, 中油） yesterday said it had signed an agreement with Genel Energy PLC to secure 49 percent working interest of the SL10B13 block in Somaliland.

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OPIC Somaliland Corp （OSC） would explore the oilfield and all of OPIC’s capital investment would come from CPC, the Taiwanese firm said.

The state-run refiner declined to disclose financial terms, but CPC spokesman Chang Ray-chung （張瑞宗） said that this is the biggest oilfield exploration deal it has been part of in terms of prospective resources.

Under the agreement, OSC would receive a 49 percent working interest in the block for a cash consideration of 49 percent of all of Genel’s historic back costs, plus a cash premium.

Genel previously held a 100 percent working interest and would continue as the block’s operator.

The block has a lot of potential, as it has multiple stacked prospects with more than 5 billion barrels of prospective resources identified in a 2D seismic data acquisition that was completed in January 2018, Genel said in a statement.

“Somaliland is a highly prospective and largely unexplored region, with a compelling technical case for the drilling of a well,” Genel technical director Mike Adams said in the statement. “Oil seeps confirm a working petroleum system and one prospect alone could target over half a billion barrels across multiple stacked reservoirs.”

The field partners would work together to plan exploration drilling, with an aim to drill a well in 2023, the statement said.

A well can be drilled for an estimated gross cost of about US$40 million.

The SL10B13 area is about 150km from a port at Berbera, offering a route to international markets.

The agreement has been approved by the government of Somaliland.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES