Block Energy (AIM:BLOE) has completed 3D seismic acquisition over the Martkopi Terrace prospect within licence XIQ, part of its Project IV portfolio in Georgia.
The AIM-listed oil and gas company, which holds assets in Georgia and interests offshore Gabon, said the survey forms part of a staged, fully funded work programme with Aspect Georgia, a subsidiary of US-based Aspect Energy, estimated at gross expenditure of approximately $95m.
Martkopi Terrace has been independently assessed by DeGolyer and MacNaughton at 301.7m barrels of oil equivalent of gross mean unrisked recoverable prospective resources.
Block is fully carried through the relevant phases of the programme, meaning Aspect bears the cost of seismic, exploration and appraisal drilling, and early production facilities while Block retains exposure to the outcome.
Under the farm-out agreement completed in January, Aspect Georgia may earn up to a 75% working interest in licence XIQ through the staged programme, with an option to increase that stake to 92.5% via further cash and royalty payments.
"Completion of the Martkopi 3D seismic acquisition is another important milestone for Project IV and tangible evidence of our partner-funded strategy moving into execution," said Paul Haywood, chief executive of Block Energy.
He added that the work "forms part of the staged programme being funded by Aspect, preserving Block's capital while retaining exposure to a potentially significant outcome", calling it a model the company is "increasingly seeking to replicate across the wider portfolio."
The acquired data will now be processed and interpreted to refine the structural definition of Martkopi Terrace and support selection of a future exploration drilling location, with the joint venture targeting a drilling-location decision in the first half of 2027 at the earliest.