The consortium of British companies BP Exploration Operating and US-based Kosmos Energy has signed two oil block prospecting contracts with the São Tomé and Príncipe National Petroleum Agency (ANP-STP), the agency’s director said in São Tomé on Friday.
Orlando Pontes said the consortium will pay a signing bonus of USD5 million for each contract, with payment to be made within 30 days of signing the contracts.
Under the contracts, the BP group will become the operator of blocks 10 and 13, leaving the São Tomé and Príncipe state with a 15 percent stake in each of them.
These contracts are valid for 28 years, with the first eight being for seismic surveys and the remaining 20 for development and production.
Block 10 has an average depth of 2,500 meters and an area of 6,839.6 square kilometers, while block 13 has an average depth of 3,000 metres and covers an area of 6,776.9 square kilometers.
In addition to the exclusive economic exploration zone, São Tomé and Príncipe also has another joint operation with Nigeria, under a treaty that grants 60 percent of revenues to the Nigerian state and 40 percent to the archipelago. MDT/Macauhub
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