"..paying just $123 million for all of block 1?" The point is that even if this was supposed to be a high price it is a ridiculously low price if there is one billion barrels of oil in the block. This price implies either that there was a very low chance of finding commercial oil or that any find would be small. It appears that somehow the oil companies have managed to establish i situation where they have to pay very little go get the right to a block in relation to the potential value of the oil in it. There does not seem to be real competition in this field based on realistic assumptions.
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