Tullow gets more time for drill or drop decision on license offshore Jamaica

Oil and gas company Tullow Oil has amended the production sharing agreement on the Walton Morant license, located offshore Jamaica, to extend the initial exploration period during which a drill or drop decision is required for a further six months. 

The Walton Morant license is operated by Tullow’s subsidiary, Tullow Jamaica, and United Oil & Gas (UOG) is its partner with a 20% interest.

UOG said on Tuesday that the initial exploration period was due to expire on January 31, 2020, at which point a commitment to drill an exploration well would have been required to move into the next phase of the license.

However, with the extension to the initial exploration period, the joint venture now has until July 31, 2020, before the drill-or-drop decision is required, UOG said.

UOG also said that a joint venture farm-down effort being led by Tullow was in progress, with the aim of bringing in an additional partner(s) for exploration drilling in 2021 on the Colibri prospect.

A number of interested parties are continuing their evaluations of the license data, and the extension was granted to provide sufficient time for these to be completed. The extension does not require any additional work programme commitments, UOG noted.

Brian Larkin , CEO at United Oil and Gas, said: “We are very pleased with the extension that has been granted. We have seen additional interest in the license towards the end of 2019, and this extension will allow those parties to fully evaluate this excellent opportunity.”

“We continue to be excited by the exploration potential in this super wild-cat area – not just in the Colibri prospect, but also in the follow-on opportunities that extend across the licensed acreage.”

It is worth reminding that Polarcus completed a seismic survey over the Walton Morant license back in May 2018, using the Polarcus Adira vessel. In August of the same year, Tullow delivered the fast track version of the 3D seismic dataset from what was Jamaica’s first 3D seismic survey.

Spotted a typo? Have something more to add to the story? Maybe a nice photo? Contact our editorial team via email.

Also, if you’re interested in showcasing your company, product, or technology on Offshore Energy Today, please contact us via our advertising form where you can also see our media kit.