South Africa's national oil company, PetroSA, signed a Technical Cooperation Permit (TCP) for Block 3A/4A with Sasol.
The block is located in the Orange basin, off the country's west coast.
Block 3A/4A covers 19,066 sq km, with water depths ranging from 100-500m, and is on the same geological trend as the Ibhubesi gas field to the north.
Under the agreement, PetroSA will conduct geochemical analysis, basin modelling and seismic interpretation to help assess the block’s hydrocarbon potential.
PetroSA says the TCP is the first cooperative exploration agreement between the two companies in 10 years. They have equal equity shares (50%), and PetroSA will be the operator.
In the past two years, PetroSA has signed cooperative agreements with several key oil companies, including China's Sinopec, Italy's Eni SpA, Mozambique's Petróleos de Moçambique (PetroMoc), and Korea National Oil Corp.
