421 



3, The Near East 



One of the hottest areas this year and next will be offshore Indonesia where 

 Sinclair Oil (now a part of Atlantic Richfield) has reported an apparent discovery on 

 a large offshore Block. The liapco Company, which is 100%-owned by Natomas, has 

 a 36% interest, and Atlantic has 46%. Atlantic, the operator, is continuing to drill at 

 an accelerated pace. In nearby Sumatra, Asamara holds 60% of a contract operation 

 covering 1. 5 million acres w h i c h entitles it to 40% of the production proceeds. 

 Rumors continue to persist, and the price of Asamara's stock reflects this speculat- 

 ion, that Japan Petroleum Company has made an excellent discovery on acreage 

 which borders on Asamara's. In nearby Papua, Phillips Petroleum has confirmed 

 a strike of nearly 33, 000 mcf/d of gas and 2, 500 b/d of condensate. While drilling 

 in this area has also yielded numerous dry holes, the amoiont of condensate in this, 

 Phillips' second discovery well, is highly encouraging. Phillips is the operator for 

 a five company group (including Superior Oil, Canadian Superior, Sun DX division 

 and Atlantic Richfield) and is already proceeding on drilling a third well. Australia 

 is an excellent, politically stable captive market for reserves discovered in Papua, 

 a possession of this country. Promising oil and gas finds are still being made offshore 

 Australia and it now appears that the nation will be self-sufficient in petroleum in 

 only a few years. Petroleum laws are being drawn up by the Australian Govern- 

 ment to provide for the export of crude. 



An improved political climate in Thailand is attracting a number of com- 

 panies to conduct seismic operations in the Gulf of Thailand. Exploratory drilling 

 operations have also commenced offshore Brunei by Ashland Oil and offshore 

 Pakistan by the Royal Dutch-Shell Group. Numerous companies are also drilling 

 offshore New Zealand's extensive Continental Shelf, hoping to find large Australian- 

 type structures there. 



4. Africa 



Due to the continued closure of the Suez Canal and the remote possibility 

 of its opening in the near future, offshore African provinces have been receiving 

 increased attention, especially off the western coast of the Continent. Operations 

 offshore Nigeria are accelerating as conditions improve and the civil war diminish- 

 es. In neighboring Gabon, Union Oil is conducting an extensive seismic program. 

 The possibilities of Nigerian-type structures off Gabon provides a good climate for 

 the operators. Gulf Oil is already developing its large reserves offshore Cabinda. 

 The first discovery, after several tries, offshore South Africa has recently been 

 made by the Superior Oil Group. The waters surrounding South Africa, because 

 of proximity to two oceans and dangerous currents, is an extremely hazardous 

 working area and drilling can be quite treacherous. 



