Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) has been given more time to begin drilling at its offshore block in The Bahamas.
In an update on Thursday, BPC said that it had received formal notification from the Government of The Bahamas that on an interim basis, a 3.5 months force majeure extension to the second exploration period of the BPC's southern licenses in The Bahamas has been granted.
This means that the current term of those licenses will now extend to at least mid-April 2021, and by which time BPC must have started well activities.
"Given that the relevant force majeure event is presently continuing (namely, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, currently ongoing in both The Bahamas and in relevant international jurisdictions), BPC remains in constructive dialogue with The Government as to the ultimate full extent of the force majeure extension," BPC, which last week merged with Trinidad-focused Columbus Energy, said.
While the dialogue continues, BPC has affirmed that the mid-April 2021 deadline is sufficient to provide certainty for the purposes of the drilling of Perseverance #1 well, which is scheduled to begin in the window of December 15, 2020 to February 1, 2021.
The well, first to be drilled by the company in the Bahamas, will be drilled by a Stena Drilling drillship under the contract announced in May.
Under the contract, Stena Drilling will provide a sixth-generation drilling rig, which may be any of the Stena IceMax, Stena Forth, or Stena DrillMax, including integrated supply of a Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) unit.
The well is targeting recoverable P50 prospective oil resources of 0.77 billion barrels, with an upside of 1.44 billion barrels
Simon Potter, Chief Executive Officer of BPC, said the company was pleased to have received confirmation from The Government of The Bahamas of an interim force majeure extension to its southern licenses,"sufficient to ensure drilling can be completed consistent with the timelines contained in the rig contract with Stena Drilling, and in full compliance with the term and obligations of the licenses."
"We are especially grateful to the Office of the Attorney General in The Bahamas for their collaborative approach to working with BPC, even whilst a state of emergency remains in force in The Bahamas," he said.