Madagascar

Gippsland Offshore applied for exploration acreage from the Government of Madagascar in November 2006. Gippsland Offshore (60%) and its joint venture partners, are completing negotiations with the Office for National Mining and Strategic Industries (OMNIS).

Gippsland Offshore and EAX have been offered the Cape D’Ambre exploration area to the north of the island. Offshore Madagascar is part of the under-explored East African margin which is generating considerable interest in the oil exploration sector following recent discoveries in the region.

The patented FALCON® airborne gravity surveying technology will play an important role in winning the exploration acreage as it will be crucial to geologically mapping these large, frontier areas. The Cape D’Ambre bid area encloses 16,000km2. In line with Gippsland Offshore's strategy to fast track the exploration and targeting process, the JV will be commencing both the airborne geophysical and seismic data acquisition as soon as practical after the signing of the PSC.

To date, there is an estimated 20 billion barrels of oil in the yet undeveloped tar sands and heavy oil accumulations on the island’s west coast. With only 10 exploration wells having been drilled in the offshore basins, the area is truly underexplored. Early mapping indicates excellent opportunity for oil and gas accumulations in the permit.

Updated 25 March 2008