Nido: Drilling at Baronang PSC awaits arrival of rig from Vietnam

By Ruli Setiawan

ASX-listed firm Nido Petroleum Limited it has been advised by Swedish firm Lundin Petroleum, the operator of the Baronang, Gurita and Cakalang PSCs offshore Natuna, that the Hakuryu-11 jack-up rig is currently in Vietnam awaiting an appropriate weather window for mobilization to Indonesia.

Nido said in a statement Wednesday that it will provide a further update to the market on the commencement of mobilization of the drilling rig for the Balqis-1 well in the Baronang PSC. The Balqis-1 well will be followed by the Boni-1 well which will be drilled as an exploratory side-track well from the same surface location as Balqis-1.

The company said on December 6, 2013 that drilling campaign at the Baronang PSC has been delayed as movement of the Hakuryu-11 rig was impacted by typhoon which hit the Philippines. It said at the time that the rig was expected to arrive on location at the Baronang PSC in the third week of December.

Elsewhere, Nido said it has secured an extension of time within which it can elect to increase its equity in each of the Baronang, Cakalang and Gurita Production Sharing Contracts. ?The Company can now exercise its option to increase its equity at any time no later than on completion of the running of the 13 3/8? casing point for the first well to be drilled in each of the Contract Areas?, it said.

Nido has 10 percent interest in the three Indonesian PSCs with option to increase participation to 20 percent prior to the commencement of drilling campaign.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak