ERHC hidden in this news, should move.
LONDON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - U.S. oil supermajor ExxonMobil will take a 40 percent stake in a prime exploration block of Nigeria and Sao Tome and Principe's Joint Development Zone at a cost of some $49 million, the chairman of the authority managing the acreage distribution said on Friday.
Joint Development Authority chairman Taju Umar told Reuters he expected the much-delayed final allocation of JDZ exploration blocks, thought to hold billions of barrels of oil, to be announced by mid-March.
Twenty oil companies bid last year for nine Gulf of Guinea blocks, to be managed jointly by the two countries and estimated to hold between six and 11 billion barrels of crude oil. The winners were expected to be unveiled in December or January.
But block allocation has been put on hold to allow Exxon, and Nigerian-owned Chrome Energy, to exercise preferential rights over the acreage granted to reflect agreements made before the establishment of the JDZ.
"(ExxonMobil) have decided to take 40 percent in Block One," Umar said.
ExxonMobil confirmed that it had exercised its right on the block on February 12, but did not comment on the dollar amount paid.
Block One was the top pick in the bidding round, with ChevronTexaco offering a $123 million signature bonus for a 100 percent of the licence.
Umar said Exxon would pay a pro-rata proportion of the $123 million, or some $49 million, for the 40 percent stake in Block One.
"They will match that, for 40 percent," he said.
Exxon still has an option to take up to 25 percent stakes in up to two more blocks. Then Chrome Energy, also known as Environmental Remediation Holdings Corp, has to say whether it will exercise options to buy stakes in up to six of the blocks. |
