PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Karoon Gas has struck a deal with German oil and gas company DEA Deutsche Erdoel to hunt for oil and gas assets offshore Brazil.
“This agreement is significant in the context of realising Karoon’s strategic ambitions to acquire meaningful oil production in Brazil. Having such a high-quality, well-capitalised partner in our corner will significantly assist the company to achieve this goal,” said Karoon MD Robert Hosking.
The commercial terms for any specific asset being bid on would be agreed and finalised at the time, as part of a joint bidding process between Karoon and DEA. As part of these arrangements, an exclusive option has been granted to DEA for the acquisition of a non-operated interest of up to 50% in Karoon’s five Santos basin offshore exploration blocks, including the Echidna and Kangaroo discoveries.
The exercise of these options will be subject to a due diligence and an agreement to terms, Karoon said.
Karoon in March this year reinitiated the process to acquire Brazil-based Petrobas’s Baúna and Tartaruga Verde fields after a previous sales agreement was withdrawn.
Baúna field has been operating since February 2013 and currently produces about 45 000 bbl/d. Tartaruga Verde field is in initial development stages, with significant investments yet to be made.