The company told the market yesterday it had formally concluded the acquisition of the permit, located in Australian-controlled waters in the Timor Sea and adjacent to Woodside’s large Laminaria and Coralina oil fields.

Karoon said it was seeking approval for the extension of the permit, which otherwise expires in February 2008.

When it first announced the acquisition last month, Karoon said AC-P8 offered good exploration potential because it was located in an existing oil and gas producing province.

AC-P8 contained two prospects and at least three leads, which Karoon said needed to be defined further before it would make a drilling decision.