UK oil giant, BP on Monday announced that it is farming in into Kosmos Energy’s exploration blocks, offshore Mauritania and Senegal.

According to the company, it would purchase a 62% working interest, including operatorship, of Kosmos’ offshore Blocks C-6, C-8, C-12 and C-13 in Mauritania as well as a 32.49% effective working interest in Kosmos’ Saint-Louis Profond and Cayar Profond blocks in Senegal. BP said the acreage holds world-class deepwater gas finds and exploration prospectivity across both countries and has said it will invest close to $1 billion mostly in the form of a multi-year exploration and development carry farm-in into both assets.

Under the terms of the agreements, BP will pay Kosmos a cash bonus of $162 million upon completion. BP will also carry Kosmos’ exploration and appraisal costs of $221 million along with Kosmos’ development costs of $533 million, including front-end engineering and design studies. The approval of the project is expected by 2018, Offshore Energy Today reports.

BP and Kosmos have also decided that Kosmos will continue to be the technical operator for the exploration phase of the project and drill three new exploration wells starting from 2017. Besides the existing blocks, the companies have agreed to collaborate in areas of mutual interest in offshore Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia with Kosmos being the exploration operator and BP as the development operator.

The agreements, which are subject to government approvals, are expected to be finalized by Q1 of 2017.

Anita Fatunji