Africa Oil & Gas: Kosmos Energy conducts seismic research in São Tomé and Príncipe

The American oil company Kosmos Energy has spent nearly US$36 million conducting seismic research to detect eventual petroleum deposits in four blocs of the exclusive economic zone of São Tomé and Príncipe, the company’s CEO announced on Wednesday in São Tomé.

After announcing the conclusion of seismic research begun last February, Andy Inglis said that the process of analysing and interpreting the data collected in the four blocs should take about nine months.

“If the results are good, we believe that in 2019 we can begin the next phase, which is drilling,” said the CEO of Kosmos, the company which acts as operator in blocs 5, 11 and 12. The operator in bloc 6 is Portugal’s Galp Energia group.

Inglis, who was received in audience by the São Toméan prime minister on Wednesday, explained that the company had respected current environmental rules in the country and fulfilled the social obligations derived from the production-sharing contracts with the National Petroleum Agency.

Besides the exclusive zone, the island country has another area jointly shared with Nigeria, based on a treaty signed in 2001 which assigns 60 percent of the revenue to the Nigeria and 40 percent to São Tomé and Príncipe. (Source: Macauhub)