Foot placed on Cuba oil accelerator

March 22 (UPI) -- A basin in Cuba that has a reserve potential of 647 million barrels is scheduled for an accelerated exploration program, an Australian energy company said.

Melbana Energy Ltd. is targeting the Block 9 prospect onshore along the Varadero oil field in Cuba. The company described its target as one of the "most exciting" prospects in the world.

Peter Stickland, the company's CEO, said in a statement that some of the areas in its Cuban portfolio could be definitive for Melbana if their potential is realized fully.

"We are looking forward to commencing the detailed planning phase to support our ambition of a drilling campaign with a target of two wells in the first half of 2018," he said.

Melbana estimated last year that Block 9 holds 637 million barrels of prospective recoverable reserves and 19 drilling prospects there were described by the company as high impact and low risk. Its highest ranked drilling opportunity is the Alameda-1 well, with an estimated 400 million barrels of recoverable oil on the high side of Melbana's estimates.

Melbana is one of the few Western oil companies, and the only one listed on the Australian exchange, with a footprint in Cuba.

The national oil company of Cuba, CUPET, extended its contract last year for early exploration efforts in Block 9 by eight months to November 2017. Melbana estimates Cuban programs have a competitive operating cost of around $7 per barrel of oil.

In its second-half report, the company said adequacy of funding was its main focus. More funding could come from capital injections, share placements or farm-ins to some of its prospects.