A unit of Union Texas Petroleum Holdings Inc. (UTP), Houston, has acquired an interest in a large South Con Son basin exploration tract off Viet Nam in the South China Sea.
UTP subsidiary Union Texas Asia Corp. (UTA) acquired a 25% interest in Viet Nam's Block 04-2, half from tract operator Lasmo Vietnam Ltd. and half from Cieco Con Son Inc. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Block 04-2 partners expect this summer to spud the first of three wildcats on the tract. The companies have interpreted about 8,000 line km of regional 2D seismic data and collected 3,950 line km of new seismic data on the block.
The 628,000 acre tract lies in 300-360 ft of water, about 18 miles north of Dai Hung oil field, under development by a group led by a unit of BHP Petroleum Pty Ltd., and 125 miles southeast of the Vietnamese port of Vung Tau.
Block 04-2 operator Lasmo and Cieco have retained equally the remaining 75% interest in the tract. Petrovietnam awarded the acreage to the two companies in August 1992 under a 5 year exploration permit.
Transfers of Block 04-2 interests to UTA are subject to approvals of Petrovietnam and Vietnam's State Committee on Cooperation & Investments.
It is the fourth exploratory prospect in which UTP has acquired an interest since last October. In the past 7 months company units have acquired shares in exploration projects off Tunisia and Ireland and on South Central Alaska's Kenai Peninsula.
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