Offshore staff
WEST PERTH, Australia – Rialto Energy and Vitol E&P plan to cooperate offshore Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.
Subject to regulatory and joint venture partner approval, Vitol will acquire a 20% interest in Rialto Energy (Ghana). In exchange, Vitol will prove a facility to cover Rialto’s $7.7-million costs toward a well on the 292-MMbblStarfish prospect, due to spud in June on the Accra block offshore Ghana.
Additionally, Vitol will acquire 65% of the shares in Rialto Energy (Côte d’Ivoire), in exchange providing $50 million for an agreed work program on block CI-202.
Rialto adds that Afren, operator of block CI-01, has indicated interest in a potential joint development of gas resources in both blocks.
Further to the Vitol transaction, Rialto has terminated its contract with Vantage Drilling Co. for theVantage Sapphire rig, which was due to start drilling operations on block CI-202 in May. The rationale is partly to allow more time for studies of future locations of exploration wells in the block.
Recently, Rialto took delivery of a prestack depth migration study performed on 3D seismic acquired in January 2012, and further analytical work, including inversion studies, continues.
4/23/2013
