PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Oil and gas major Santos has struck a joint venture (JV) agreement with fellow-listed Beach Energy to partner over four exploration permits in the Bonaparte basin, offshore northern Australia.
The two companies will each hold a 50% JV interest in the four permits, with Santos acting as operator.
Santos told shareholders that the transaction would boost its position in northern Australia, where it already holds an 11.5% interest in the Bayu-Undan gas-condensate field and the Darwin liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant, as well as a 25% interest in the Barossa field, which is currently in front-end engineering and design, and is a leading candidate to backfill Darwin LNG.
“This alignment of equity and operatorship will allow for a more strategic approach to the next phase of exploration in the region,” said Santos MD and CEO Kevin Gallagher.
“It also reinforces Santos’ significant exploration and existing substantial resource position in offshore Northern Australia, and is a good example of industry collaboration aimed at doing things smarter.”
Gallagher said that the next steps for the permits would see the company evaluate new and existing seismic data in order to build inventory and define potential drill targets within the next few years.