The Kenyan government has granted a one-year extension to the current initial exploration period of the L10B offshore license in the East African country
According to Pancontinental Oil & Gas, after the completion of the current exploration period, company can elect to move into the first additional period of the license.
The Australian-listed explorer said that this extension would be favourable to the stakeholders in the block because it would give it more time to assess the impact of the Sunbird-1 discovery in the adjacent L10A area, where the company holds 18.75 per cent.
BG Group is operator and holds 45 per cent interest in the offshore block with Pancontinental Oil & Gas owning 15 per cent share. The latter intends to increase its stake to 20 per cent prior to 15 June 2014 and subject to Ministry approval, company sources said.
Pancontinental Oil & Gas added that it will to use the extended period to secure a farm-in agreement for any future L10B drilling.
L10B is said to contain a number of large prospects and leads identified using 3D seismic, and these are being currently examined as potential exploration drilling targets.
