US oil company, Kosmos Energy and Portugal’s Galp Energia have started seismic surveys for oil in four blocks of the Exclusive Economic Zone of Sao Tome and Principe, the director of the National Oil Agency told Macauhub on Monday.

Orlando Sousa Pontes said, “Less than 48 hours ago Kosmos and Galp Energia started seismic work in blocks 5,6, 11 and 12 as planned,” in production sharing contracts signed with the National Oil Agency.

As well as saying that the surveys will take about nine months in the sea near the island of Principe, Sousa added that “the environmental impacts have been adequately safeguarded.”

A little less than a month ago, Kosmos transferred to Galp Energia 20% of its rights and obligations under the production sharing contracts in blocks 5, 11 and 12 of the Exclusive Economic Zone of São Tomé and Principe.

The beginning of the seismic survey comes nearly a year after Kosmos and Galp Energia publicly presented a study on the environmental impact of the operation in São Tomé, a condition imposed by the Law on Petroleum Operations and the Basic Environment Law of São Tomé and Principe.

In addition to the exclusive area, São Tomé and Principe also has another joint area shared with Nigeria on the basis of a treaty signed in 2001 establishing 60% of revenues for the Nigerian state and the remaining 40% for the São Tomé archipelago. (macauhub)