Carnarvon gets Natuna joint study license

Australian oil, gas firm Carnarvon Petroleum Ltd announced on Monday it had been awarded on October 11, 2007 a Joint Study Licence by the Indonesian government covering an offshore area of 14,400 square kilometres within North West Natuna Basin.

Carnarvon will be part of a joint venture (NW Natuna Joint Study Group) also comprising Enovation Resources Ltd, Natuna Ventures Pte Ltd and PT Gema Terra, which has been granted exclusive rights to carry out a detailed geological and geophysical programme to evaluate the petroleum prospectivity of the area.

Carnarvon will have a 32.5% interest in the joint venture and will be dual operator with Enovation Resources for the duration of a 6 month study period. On the completion of the programme the Joint Study group will have a right of first refusal to conclude a direct award for a block within the Joint Study area under Indonesia?s Production Sharing Contract (PSC) terms.

The Joint Study area is currently vacant acreage located in the under-explored offshore North West Natuna Basin, situated north east of the prolific oil & gas provinces of the West Natuna and Malay Basins and south west of the recent oil discoveries within the southern part of the Nam Con Son Basin, Vietnam, the company said. (denny)