Leni Gas and Oil (LGO) said it has made progress on definitive agreements with Beach Oilfield Ltd. (BOLT) in the Cedros Peninsula of southwest Trinidad with the signing of an exclusivity agreement, a consultancy agreement, and data agreement.

"The first activity is now expected to be underway in early 2014. Next year will see the first material advances in exploration in the Cedros since the FRM-1 well drilled in 2008 which found oil below 3,581 m (11,750 ft) in the Lower Cruse formation,” LGO Chief Executive Neil Ritson said in the release.

The heads of agreement (HOA) signed with BOLT in June 2013 covered three main areas: the cross-assignment of deep rights between the parties so that LGO would become 100% interest holder in all the private petroleum leases below 2,134 m (7,000 ft) (the farm-in agreement), the provision by BOLT of all relevant data on the Cedros Peninsula (the data agreement), and an agreement for BOLT's principal expert, Krishna Persad, to provide consultancy services to LGO (the consultancy agreement), the release said. These agreements secure LGO's access to a package of more than 7,500 gross acres of underexplored leases on trend with large oil discoveries in both Trinidad and Venezuela.

The farm-in agreement is still at a drafting stage and to ensure the continuity of the relationship between BOLT and LGO an exclusivity agreement has been executed to give LGO exclusive rights under the HOA until the end of March 2014 by which time all the associated arrangements are expected to be finalized. The data agreement has now been agreed between the parties and is expected to be signed in December. The consultancy agreement was signed in October for an initial period of 12 months.

Subsequent to the signing of the HOA, BOLT has successfully received its assignment of the leases covered by the farm-in agreement and have commenced work on those leases. It is for example envisaged that a surface soil geochemistry survey pertinent to the joint interests of BOLT and LGO will be acquired in early 2014, the release said.

LGO's own a private petroleum license for the Cedros leases in the Perseverance and Columbia Estates which are under 100% LGO ownership is at the Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs for approval and is now expected to be granted in early 2014.