The extension removes any obligation on the part of operator Dominion Petroleum to relinquish any portion of block 7 until May 2012.
It also gives the company ample to fully evaluate the acreage before a mandatory 50% relinquishment at the close of the initial period.
Late last year, Dominion acquired a 3-D seismic survey on Block 7 and is presently processing these data in full while interpreting the fast track volume.
However, the fast track volume has led to the identification of numerous other prospects of similar scale to Alpha and final processing for the survey is likely to be completed in early May.
With this extension, Dominion can continue to assess the whole of block, and possibly acquire more data, to better decide how to proceed toward drilling.
