Puntland Petroleum Minerals Agency (PPMA) has announced that it has awarded ION Geophysical a contract to acquire 8,000 km of seismic data which covers the entire Somalia Puntland offshore margin.

The regional 2D multi-client survey, known as PuntlandSPAN, is conducted to support a future license round initiative and to assist the E&P industry in gaining a better understanding of the architecture of the sedimentary basin and the hydrocarbon potential of this unexplored offshore margin. Data acquisition is expected to begin in Q4 of 2015.

The PPMA also made known is plans to demarcate its offshore territory into 25 exploration blocks covering 180,000 km² of the Somalia Puntland seaboard. In total, there are seven Blocks in the Gulf of Aden and 18 Blocks in the Indian Ocean that have been defined. Block sizes range from 5,000 km² in the inshore area to 25,000 km² in the deeper water.

According to Dr. Issa Farah, the Director of the PPMA, “The creation of the Block scheme is an important milestone in the development of oil and gas exploration within the jurisdiction of the autonomous State of Puntland. The PPMA is pleased to announce the availability of these blocks and looks forward to engaging with the industry to discuss their plans for the region.”

However Joe Gagliardi, Senior Vice President of ION's Ventures group, added in an interview with Energy-pedia , “We are very pleased to assist the PMAA in demarcating a block boundary scheme, which heralds an important step in their preparation for future licensing rounds offshore Puntland. The acquisition of the PuntlandSPAN data will provide valuable insight into the petroleum prospectivity of the region, and we are pleased to be a part of this ground-breaking program.”