Niko Resources updates Indonesian ops
Friday, November 13 2009 - 01:25 AM WIB
Niko has acquired interests in several blocks in deepwater offshore Indonesia. Indonesia has long been a prolific oil and gas producing nation with very large reserves; however, its deepwater areas have remained essentially unexplored. Most blocks have sea bottom oil and gas seeps and large structural features, and several have direct indication of hydrocarbons on seismic. The single well commitment per block will follow seismic acquisition and interpretation. The seismic program planned for each block is outlined below:
| Block | Planned seismic |
| Bone Bay | 3,000 kilometres of 2D |
| Cendrawasih | 1,200 square kilometres of 3D |
| Kofiau | 1,042 kilometres of 2D, 3,150 square kilometres of 3D |
| Kumawa | 3,000 kilometres of 2D |
| Seram | 3,500 kilometres of 2D |
| South Matindok | 4,400 kilometres of 2D |
| Southeast Ganal | 2,250 kilometres of 2D, 2,700 square kilometres of 3D |
| West Sageri | 3,400 kilometres of 2D, 702 square kilometres of 3D |
A 2,700 square kilometre 3D spec survey was completed in Southeast Ganal in September 2009 and a 702 square kilometre 3D spec survey is being acquired in West Sageri. Acquisition of 2D seismic in these blocks was completed in October 2009.
New 2D seismic surveys are also planned for the Bone Bay, South Matindok, Kumawa, Kofiau and Seram blocks. A spec 3D survey is expected to commence in Kofiau in the calendar year.
The Company holds interests in PSCs for eight offshore exploration blocks covering approximately 40,000 square kilometres. The chart below indicates the location, award date, the Company's working interest and the size of the block.
| Block Name | Offshore Area | Award Date | NIKO Interest | Area (square kilometers) |
| West Sageri (i) | Makassar Strait | November-08 | 51% | 4,977 |
| SE Ganal I (i) | Makassar Strait | November-08 | 51% | 4,868 |
| Seram | Seram North | November-08 | 25% | 4,991 |
| South Matindok | Sulewasi NE | November-08 | 25% | 5,182 |
| Bone Bay | Sulewasi SW | November-08 | 25% | 4,969 |
| Kofiau (i) | West Papua | May-09 | 67% | 5,000 |
| Kumawa | Papua SW | May-09 | 25% | 5,004 |
| Cendrawasih | Papua NW | May-09 | 25% | 4,991 |
| Note: (i) NIKO operated | ||||
All of the blocks are in the first exploration period, which is a three-year period. The Company has minimum work commitments for the blocks acquired in November 2008 to acquire and process 16,350 kilometres of 2D seismic in total for the five blocks and drill one well per block.
The Company has minimum work commitments for the blocks acquired in May 2009 for the acquisition of 4,042 kilometres of 2D seismic, 1,200 square kilometres of 3D seismic and drilling one well per block.
Indonesian capital spending in the quarter of US$7.0 million was for 3D seismic in the Southeast Ganal block and the remaining costs were for signing bonuses for various blocks and carrying costs of the blocks. Year-to-date spending included the signing bonus with respect to the Kofiau block. Forecast capital spending in Indonesia is for seismic. (end of excerpt)