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Assets & Strategy: Philippines: Service Contract 58

On 18 July 2006 Nido Petroleum announced that it had successfully farmed in with the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) to Service Contract 58 (SC58) in the north-west Palawan Basin. As part of the farm-in agreement Nido has been invited to operate the seismic and drilling operations.

SC58 is contiguous to Nido's SC54 and west of SC14 and SC6B. The Service Contract is adjacent to Shell's 600 million BOE Malampaya gas field and offers conventional Nido limestone drilling targets but also provides access to a major part of the Basin's Miocene Pagasa Turbidite play fairway.

It covers some 1,344,000 hectares in this proven hydrocarbon basin. A number of leads have already been identified by PNOC and Nido adding considerably to the prospects and lead inventory.

Nido will earn 50% working interest in consideration for paying for 100% of the farm-in programme of work.

The exploration work programme commenced in mid-2006 with preparations for a 3,000 km, 2D seismic acquisition in SC58 (to be conducted concurrently with a similar seismic programme in Nido's SC54.) Nido has secured the MV Veritas Voyager for this survey. The 2D programme will be followed by a targeted 3D seismic survey.

The seismic data will be processed and interpreted and an inventory of prospects and leads will be prepared. The opportunities will be ranked and a detailed exploration drilling programme prepared.

The SC58 work programme is ongoing in Nido's Perth and Manila offices.

 

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