US oil company Chevron-Texaco will being drilling exploratory wells in Block-1 of the offshore Joint Development Zone (JDZ) shared by Nigeria and Sao Tome and Principe next month, a company spokesman said Friday.

According to reports reaching here, Tim Persons, the company's representative in Sao Tome, told local media, if commercial quantities of crude are discovered, production will begin in 2010.

It said that the first well would be drilled at a depth of 1, 700 meters, estimating it would take 60 days at a cost of 60 million US dollars.

Block-1, which carried a signature bonus of 123 million US dollars, is the first of six JDZ blocks to have been jointly awarded by Sao Tome and Nigeria.

Five other blocks, adjoining Block-1, were awarded to various consortiums on May 31 but await the signing of production sharing contracts.

Under a bilateral treaty signed in 2001, Abuja and Sao Tome share JDZ revenues in a 60:40 ration in favor of Nigeria.

Source: Xinhua