French oil giant Total has requested a one-year extension on its exploration licence for Block 3102 in Madagascar, a senior official said on Wednesday.

"Until now, Total has been exploiting heavy oil at the Bemolanga oilfield. This time, it hopes to carry out a study on conventional oil but it will not abandon its work in heavy oil," Pascal Velonarivo, the director general of hydrocarbons within the ministry of oil and hydrocarbons told reporters.

Total signed an agreement with Madagascar Oil to operate the Bemolanga licence with a 60 percent interest.

The onshore block 3102 is in the Morondava basin on the western coast of the Indian Ocean island. Total said late last year that it was on target to produce heavy oil at Bemolanga by 2019.

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