The signature bonus policy is set by the host country.
In the case of ERHC's 100% blocks in São Tomé and Príncipe they are already free of signature bonuses, so that is not an issue for development of ERHC's EEZ blocks.
ERHC does not engage in any "bribery", that would be illegal and jeopardize their good standing as a US listed company.
But STP may consider waiving signature bonuses for the remaining EEZ blocks as a way to kick-start development. Or they can just wait for some drilling and hopefully a major discovery to be made. The EEZ could become the new thing at that point. Right now it is virgin and virtually unexplored.
Look at the below chart showing the relative size of ERHC's two 100% blocks in the EEZ and compare and contrast with the two JDZ blocks on the chart.
Then note the red dots showing drilling across from ERHC's block 4 in Equatorial Guinea. All those wells could easily fit in just one of ERHC's blocks. The geology is similar and there have been discoveries.
But first the EEZ geology has to spark the interest of an ultra-deepwater operator as was the case in ERHC's JDZ blocks. We are waiting for that happy event, but we can't force it. There are only so many rigs available and a handful of qualified operators in this game.
Perhaps it will be like Kenya which was of little interest until Tullow made a major discovery?
Or perhaps the existing EEZ seismic, the new EEZ seismic, or some additional seismic will do the trick?
One thing is for sure, with the full SEC/DOJ clearance, ERHC is no longer limited to just Sinopec and a small non-US IOC as an operator. Now ERHC can be considered by the full range of ultra-deepwater operators including US based. So the game has changed dramatically for ERHC these last couple of months.
Hard to predict the future, but if it happens, I expect it will result in another huge run-up in the ERHC share price. If not, I like the fact that there is also Chad, the JDZ, and now Kenya in ERHC's growing portfolio of exploration assets.
Oil and Gas exploration is a game of patience and luck, especially in ultra-deepwater.
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