Madagascar: Exxon, Sterling pull out of Ampasindava

Operator ExxonMobil and its partner Sterling Energy have opted to relinquish the Ampasindava Block following a detailed subsurface reassessment of the prospectivity. Sterling said the production-sharing contract was in phase three of the exploration period, which was due to expire in July 2016. ExxonMobil had been planning a deep-water well on the Sifaka prospect, but drilling was repeatedly postponed amid the island’s political crisis. A 1,314km 2D seismic acquisition programme on Ampasindava was completed in December 2013.