Jamaica signs oil exploration agreement with Irish firm

Last Updated on Thursday, 13 November 2014, 1:03 by GxMedia

San Juan, Nov 12 (EFE).- Jamaica’s government has granted permission to Ireland’s Tullow Oil to begin offshore oil exploration under the terms of an agreement whose value has not yet been disclosed.

The agreement calls for the Irish oil company to carry out “low cost studies” in the Walton Basin and Moran Basin areas that cover 32,065 sq. kilometers (12,380 sq. miles) off Jamaica’s south coast, a Tullow Oil representative told Efe Wednesday.

“The contract is effective from 1 November 2014 and commits Tullow to carry out low cost studies, reprocessing work and, if the company elects to proceed, adquisition of new 2D and 3D seismic in the initial three and a half year exploration period,” Tullow said in a statement.

The Production Sharing Agreement to be executed by Tullow Oil and the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica will help gather information on how much oil is in the island’s 10 full blocks.

News of the agreement was released at the same time that Tullow announced its decision to revise operating costs in French Guiana, “where we have significant costs booked for the Zaedyus discovery and subsequent appraisal wells.” EFE