Rawson Resources Gets Hydrocarbon Prospecting Licence in PNG

Rawson Resources has been awarded a hydrocarbon prospecting license in Papua New Guinea (PNG).

PNG’s oil ministry has awarded the company Petroleum Prospecting Licence (PPL) 549. The licence document took effect on May 27, 2016. Rawson Resources holds 100 percent interest in PPL 549 and the licence has been awarded on a six-year term, with a further six-year renewal period.  The first well commitment in the licence is due in the fourth year (by mid-2020), the company said.   

The first phase of the work program will focus on validating previously identified carbonate reef anomalies and the potential of clastic reservoirs in the licence through reservoir, seal and analogue studies, field work and seismic reprocessing.   

Rawson’s wider PNG portfolio includes the recently announced share purchase agreement (SPA) for Moira Limited, who maintain a 100 percent working interest in PPL 391.  This licence is located in the North New Guinea Basin, encompassing the Matapau oil seeps and shallow wells.    

The Company has two further petroleum licence applications under consideration by the PNG regulatory authorities.  APPL 550 represents a low risk play close to the existing Stanley, Elevala, Ketu, Tingu and Ubuntu discoveries on the Fly River Platform.  APPL 560, in the shallow waters of the Cape Vogel Basin, contains significant potential having previously been independently assessed with a mean potential resource of 6.5 Tcf.