KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's integrated oil and gas company Sapura Energy, along with its joint venture partners DEA Deutsche Erdoel Mexico (DEA) and Premier Oil (Premier), has been awarded Block 30 in Sureste Basin, a proven and prolific hydrocarbon province in the Gulf of Mexico.

Sapura Energy said in a statement Thursday that its wholly-owned subsidiary Sapura Exploration & Production Sdn Bhd (Sapura E&P) and the two partners outbid six other bidders for the block.

Sapura E&P had earlier entered into the bidding agreement with DEA and Premier based on an equity split of DEA (40 percent), Sapura Energy (30 percent) and Premier (30 percent).

Block 30, which is located in shallow waters at about 70 meters, directly to the south west of Premier's world-class Zama discovery and to the north of the Amoca oil field, was the most contested block in the bid.

The consortium has identified material leads and prospects on Block 30 in the tertiary clastic plays, typical of the Sureste Basin and in which Premier made the world-class Zama discovery in July 2017.

The main prospect exhibits DHIs (direct hydrocarbon indicators) on the existing 3D seismic across the southern edge of Block 30, significantly de-risking a potentially material oil play there. These anomalies are similar to those seen at the Zama and Amoca oil fields.

The plan is to acquire a 3D seismic in 2019 ahead of firming up drilling locations in 2020, according to the statement.

"This is a formidable partnership of like-minded companies with significant world wide experience, which augurs well for future success in Mexico," said Sapura Energy President and Chief Executive officer Shahril Shamsuddin.

He said that Sapura E&P has been operating in Mexico since late 2012 and has worked closely with PEMEX on a number of offshore projects.

"The Sureste Basin is not unknown territory, the shallow water operating conditions are similar to Malaysia and our team is on familiar ground," he added.