The Group made an application for an exploration licence for petroleum in the Pletmos Inshore Block (10,800 km 2 ) to the Petroleum Agency of South Africa on 24 February 2010, which was accepted on 10 March 2010. Pre-award requirements, including an environmental study, were completed in January 2011 and final ministerial approval of the licence is expected shortly.

The Pletmos Inshore Block is located in the shallow water Pletmos sub-basin off the southern coast of South Africa within the greater Outeniqua basin where over four TCF of gas equivalent have been discovered to date. The Pletmos Inshore Block is 200 km from the Mossel Bay GTL plant which has spare capacity. No exploration has occurred in the Pletmos Inshore Block since 1990.

Previous exploration efforts by Soekor (the then South Africa state oil company) between 1970 and 1990 had focused on syn-rift structures and resulted in the discovery and appraisal of the Ga-A field, located to the south of the Pletmos Inshore Block and a gas discovery in the Ga-V1 well, located in the south-west of the Pletmos Inshore Block.

Bayfield plans to focus on two shallower (1,200 – 1,800 m) untested plays related to high quality reservoirs in the drift section that have been proven by existing exploration wells targeting the deeper syn-rift sediments.