Ophir Energy Plc has signed exploration and production-sharing contracts (PSCs) for two additional blocks offshore Gabon , a press release said.

The new blocks, A3 and A4, are located outboard of Ophir’s existing acreage in the North Gabon Basin. Block A3, which will be called the Nkouere PSC, covers an area of 675 sq km (261 sq miles), and Block A4, which will be called the Nkawa PSC, covers an area of 2,085 sq km (805 sq miles). Both cover water depths of between 2,000 m and 2,500 m (6,562 ft and 8,202 ft).

Ophir’s analysis of its 2014 North Gabon drill campaign has enhanced the prospectivity of the deepwater distal margin of the North Gabon Basin—in particular the Cretaceous section, where a now-proven oil-prone marine source rock is overlain by a series of deepwater coarse sands. This offers a petroleum system with the potential for large stratigraphic and structural traps, the company said. This frontier play is thus far unexplored in the West Atlantic margins.

Ophir is presently acquiring an 8,600-sq-km (3,320-sq-mile) 3-D seismic program on the play in its existing blocks, and the 3-D acquisition will now be enlarged by a further 2,300 sq km (888 sq miles) to cover these two new blocks.

The company’s total acreage in Gabon now totals 15,470 sq km (5,973 sq miles) across six blocks. Ophir has a 100% participating interest and operatorship in the two new blocks. The Gabonese State has the right to acquire a 20% interest in the newly awarded Nkouere and Nkawa PSCs on commencement of production.

The Gabon National Oil Company also has the right to acquire up to an additional 15% interest at market rates.