Group news

Perenco completes acquisition of three exploration permits in Australia

Perenco is very pleased to announce the acquisition of three exploration permits in Australia through the purchase of Chevron Australia Pty Ltd (South East Australia), to be renamed Perenco Pty Ltd.

Perenco now holds a 37.5% interest in exploration permits T/32P and T/35P, operated by Santos and with Mitsui as a partner, and a 50% interest in Exploration Permit T/36P, which is also operated by Santos. These permits are located in the offshore Sorell basin in South East Australia, which is an extension of the producing Otway basin, and they have a combined area of over 13,000km2 with water depths ranging from 50m to 3,000m. They offer a range of play types, prospects and leads, some of which are analogous to the Thylacine and Geographe fields in the Otway basin.

The joint venture recently acquired 410km2 of 3D seismic over block T/35P and 252km2 of 3D data over T/36P. These data will be available for interpretation later in the summer after processing and this work will determine the forward programme on these licenses.

This acquisition represents Perenco's fifth new country entry in the last nine months. This follows the awarding of the Sindi-Amedi license in the Kurdish Region of Iraq, signing of two production sharing contracts in Belize, the recent acquisition of Barrett in Peru, and the awarding of five deepwater licenses in the Brazilian ninth round. These ventures demonstrate the aim to grow the company through exploration in new regions as well as in established countries. The combination of these licences, plus any awards from other new venture efforts that are currently underway, will continue the process of replenishing the portfolio for the next generation of exploration drilling.

Please direct anyenquiries to Larry Bottomley: + 44 (0)20 7901 82000