04-17-2013, 11:53 PM
I think that this JVOA is part of IOC's historical way of progressing development in anticipation of the project approval. They have continuously spent money on development of things that will be necessary no matter who the partner is and no matter where the LNG plant(s) will be located. All of the road building, bridges, clearing of pipeline ROW, readying Napa Napa, building the Hou landing area and Purari landing area, building the base camps, etc etc along with the drilling of prospects will allow them and whoever partners with them to hit the ground running. However, the government wants to be sure any spending is necessary and done timely (ie spudding Elk-3), and so I see these JVOAs as approval of how works can progress now and after the partner(s) is/are chosen and approved. The fact that these JVOAs were registered under the O&G Act says to me that IOC, Pac LNG, PRE and the government are on the same page and IOC has the parameters under which it can continue to spud, do seismics, etc. and the government has given its approvals. I would expect that we see Elk-3 spud any day. When any partner(s) are chosen these JVOAs are already in place as to essential development for the LNG project; basically no-brainer stuff that the government has already approved.
This shows how proactive IOC is and why things will move very quickly once the partner(s) are chosen. Very positive in that the government has signed off.
Pet's find of the Raptor/Duckbill notation in PREs presentation also points to this. I think they have convinced the government that it's very likely the reef (string of pearls) runs southward right through IOC's licenses. If you look at some of the slides from last year which showed gravity data ("Potential Field Data Aids Prospect Definition on slide 13 here:
http://www.interoil.com/iocfiles/documen...202012.pdf ), Raptor/Duck Bill is described as, "The Raptor Duck Bill trend is well defined on gravity. This will aid in planning for additional future seismic over this highly prospective area." If PRE is saying they plan on drilling here, it must be that the government is saying, "Go for it" under the approved JVOA.
This shows how proactive IOC is and why things will move very quickly once the partner(s) are chosen. Very positive in that the government has signed off.
Pet's find of the Raptor/Duckbill notation in PREs presentation also points to this. I think they have convinced the government that it's very likely the reef (string of pearls) runs southward right through IOC's licenses. If you look at some of the slides from last year which showed gravity data ("Potential Field Data Aids Prospect Definition on slide 13 here:
http://www.interoil.com/iocfiles/documen...202012.pdf ), Raptor/Duck Bill is described as, "The Raptor Duck Bill trend is well defined on gravity. This will aid in planning for additional future seismic over this highly prospective area." If PRE is saying they plan on drilling here, it must be that the government is saying, "Go for it" under the approved JVOA.