New World Oil and Gas (LSE:NEW), an oil and gas exploration and development company focused on Belize and Denmark, has announced that the Government of Belize has approved the application of the third and final renewal period of the Blue Creek Production Sharing Agreement (‘PSA’) in relation to its Blue Creek Project in the Petén Basin, Belize.
This approval extends the term of the PSA until 12 October 2015.
Since New World completed the assignment for the Blue Creek concession with partner Blue Creek Exploration Limited in June 2011, the Company has earned 100% working interest following the completion of a staged earn-in programme. This included the acquisition and interpretation of 231 km of 2-D seismic data on the licence blocks, and the drilling of two wells and a sidetrack.
Under the terms of the renewal of the PSA, the Company has committed to the following exploration activities in the first year of the renewal period:
· A thorough re-evaluation of its 2-D seismic data with a view to revise the interpretation where needed
· Review of drilling results of Blue Creek #2, Blue Creek #2A ST and Rio Bravo #1 wells (‘the Wells’) and confirm their correlation to existing subsurface data and seismic
· Carry out geochemical analyses of oil samples collected from the Wells in comparison to other crude oils in the Petén Basin with a view to determine possible migration pathways from postulated source areas
· Re-evaluate the results of the core study carried out by Core-Lab and tie into existing subsurface data
During the second year of the renewal period, New World will either drill one exploration well or drop the licence.
In addition, the Company is continuing to seek a farm-in or joint venture partner to share the exploration of the Blue Creek acreage with a view to recommencing drilling.
New World CEO William Kelleher said, “We are delighted to have received the approval from the Government of Belize for the third renewal period on the Blue Creek PSA. With an active exploration work programme in place we are stepping up our efforts to seek farm-in or joint venture partners for our highly prospective licence areas. We will continue to keep the market informed of our activities.”