PetroVietnam's upstream arm PVEP said it has acquired an interest from Peru-based ConocoPhillips Burlington Resources Ltd. in an offshore Peruvian oil block following an agreement signed March 24.
The two companies held a ceremony in Lima on May 9 to celebrate the signing of the agreement on Block 39 in Peru, PVEP said late Monday.
The company's statement didn't mention how much PVEP paid Burlington Resources Ltd. for the stakes.
A PVEP source told Platts Tuesday that the company cannot provide more information about the sale as the agreement prohibits the parties from revealing the contract's value.
"We have signed the contract to acquire 35% stakes of this project," the source added.
The latest upstream project will be PVEP's third in Peru.
The agreement has been submitted to the Peruvian government for approval. It is expected to be approved and licensed in next couple of weeks, the company said in its statement.
Block 39 is situated in the Maranon Basin in an area of 8.868 square km in Maynas province. The original contract was signed between PeruPetro, Repsol Exploracion Peru (the operator), Reliance Exploration & Production DMCC, and Burlington Resources Ltd. Peru, said PVEP.
Last Wednesday, ConocoPhillips CEO James Mulva said at the company's annual general meeting that it had withdrawn from its joint venture with Repsol-YPF in oil Block 39. Oil drilling in Block 39 and neighboring Block 67 has come under fire from human rights groups due to the presence of indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation in the region.
