Global Petroleum withdraws from its Juan de Nova Permit in the Mozambique Channel

Global Petroleum has provided an asset review on its Juan de Nova Permit in the Mozambique Channel announcing it is withdrawing from its application for an extension of the Permit in to the second phase in August 2013.

According to the company’s board has taken the move given the lack of progress in the two years since then, the fact that there is no visibility as to when a formal decision might be forthcoming from the French authorities, as well as Global’s relative technical ranking of Juan de Nova compared to its other interests and opportunities

The Company whose  strategy is to seek early licence positions in frontier exploration areas in Africa and the Mediterranean either directly through licence rounds, joint venture arrangements or acquisition had filed an application to renew the Juan de Nova Est permit for a five year term.

A petroleum systems review, including reprocessing of historic 2D seismic data, was completed earlier in 2013 with the results appearing to show a thick potentially prospective stratigraphic section in deep water in both the northern and southern triangles of the.

An application by the joint venture partners to renew approximately 4,500 square kilometres (50% of the existing permit area) of the Juan de Nova Est permit was submitted to the French authorities on 28 August 2013.

As per the time of the renewal Wessex was the operator and has a beneficial interest of 70% as there was insufficient time to convert this beneficial interest into full legal title to the permit prior to the deadline for the permit renewal, and so Wessex was unable legally to participate in the renewal process.

However, Global had been holding a full legal interest in the permit through its wholly owned subsidiary Jupiter Petroleum Juan de Nova Ltd with Jupiter applying for renewal as a 100% interest holder and Operator.

Alongside the permit renewal application, a new joint venture agreement had been signed with Wessex giving Wessex the right to apply to the relevant French authorities to take legal title to a 50% legal working interest, in the event that the renewal is successful.

Juan de Nova is a French overseas territory in the Mozambique Channel, north-west of Madagascar.