The source is from the post below.
No need to be so hostile
Posted by: kingpindg Date: Tuesday, May 11, 2010 7:24:47 AM
In reply to: None Post # of 214044
INTERVIEW-Eight firms eye Sao Tome and Principe oil blocks
Tue May 11, 2010 4:34pm IST
* Eight international oil cos vying for blocks
* Other bidders likely in coming months
SAO TOME, May 11 (Reuters) - ConocoPhillips (COP.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Chevron (CVX.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Petrobras (PETR4.SA: Quote, Profile, Research) and Tullow (TLW.L: Quote, Profile, Research) are among eight international oil firms vying for new exploration blocks in the waters off of Sao Tome and Principe, according to the head of the West African island nation's state energy firm.
The tiny country, hoping to join the ranks of the region's top energy producers in the next decade, launched the bidding process for seven of its 19 exclusive oil blocks in March with bids due from oil companies in mid-September.
"These companies continue to express interest and are in the process of consulting seismic data," director of state-run ANP, Luis dos Prazeres, told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday. "We are confident that we will receive additional proposals by the end of the auction."
U.S. companies Marathon (MRO.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Murphy (MUR.N: Quote, Profile, Research), as well as Germany's RWE (RWEG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) and India's ONGC Videsh (ONGC.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) have also expressed interest, he said.
Sao Tome Prime Minister Joaquim Rafael Branco, along with ANP officials, met with oil executives in Houston in April to discuss terms for the blocks with an eye toward incorporating feedback into the eventual contracts.
Dos Prazeres told Reuters the meetings were "positive" but did not give details. "Everything will be decided on September 15," he said.
Sao Tome currently depends on its cocoa industry for the bulk of its revenues but expects to become a commercial oil producer within eight years.
Nearby Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Cameroon and Gabon have all earned billions of dollars from development of their oil fields in the Gulf of Guinea.
Sao Tome's first oil licences were sold in 2004 but development was delayed by a row with Nigeria over their shared maritime border. Sao Tome has since been in talks with fellow former Portuguese colony Angola over a possible partnership deal to tap into its oil reserves.
Aside from its exclusive oil blocks, Sao Tome and Nigeria share a joint development zone where exploration activity is ongoing but where commercially exploitable reserves have yet to be discovered.
(Reporting by Ricardo Neto; writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Keiron Henderson)
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