11 May 2013
The farm-in includes promotion of drilling up to two wells and performing a 3D seismic survey
SOSINA Exploration is pleased to announce a farm-in by Cairn Energy represented by its wholly owned subsidiary Capricorn Ireland Limited as operator of SOSINA's two licences offshore West of Ireland in the Porcupine Basin. The two licences - FEL 2/04 (which includes the Spanish Point and Burren discoveries) and FEL 4/08, together cover an area of 1,242 km2 - are currently operated by Chrysaor (60%) with Providence Resources (32%) and SOSINA Exploration Ltd (8%). The six adjacent licensing option blocks, known as Licensing Option (LO) 11/2, cover an area of 1,511 km2 and can be converted to a FEL from October 2013.
Cairn will acquire, subject to regulatory and partner approval, a 38% Working Interest and Operatorship by paying a pro-rated share of back costs amounting to $4.1million (as at 31 December, 2012) and 63.33% of future exploration and appraisal costs for up to two wells, subject to a cap. Costs in excess of the cap will be shared by the parties according to their equity interests. Based on Cairn's estimate of the expected well cost, Cairn anticipates it will be contributing ~55% of the cost of each well.
Drilling of the first appraisal well on Spanish Point is targeted for Q2 2014. The partners also currently expect to propose a 3D seismic work programme on LO 11/2. A further well will be considered following the initial appraisal well.
The Quad 35 Area contains two proven discoveries: The Spanish Point gas/condensate field and the Burren oil field plus multiple prospects and leads in the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous intervals. The Spanish Point discovery was made by Phillips Petroleum in 1981 with exploration well 35/8-2 and lies at the northern end of the Porcupine Basin in approximately 400m of water.
Within the Quad 35 acreage there have been no wells drilled since the Spanish Point discovery well 30 years ago. Before 2008 the area was held by Providence Resources and SOSINA. Chrysaor farmed into the Quad 35 acreage in 2008 by acquiring 3D seismic over Spanish Point in 2009. Based on the result of subsequent interpretation of the 3D seismic data, additional core analysis and extensive fluid/reservoir modelling work (both static and dynamic), the Spanish Point partners believe that Quad 35 has the potential to become a material hydrocarbon production centre with a multi-year follow-on exploration & development programme.
| Contact: |
Mr. John Ødegaard, Chairman of the Board Tel: +45 35 31 10 03 Mobile: +45 27 26 00 03 |
About Cairn Energy Cairn Energy PLC ('Cairn') is one of Europe's leading independent oil and gas exploration and development companies and is listed on the London Stock Exchange. Cairn has discovered and developed oil and gas reserves in a variety of locations around the world. The company has historically focused its activities on the geographic region of South Asia where it has operated for more than 20 years. During this time it discovered, developed and produced oil and gas both offshore and onshore in Bangladesh and India and made more than 40 significant discoveries. In particular, Cairn made a major oil discovery in Rajasthan in the north west of India at the beginning of 2004 where over 25 discoveries have since been made with the potential to provide more than 30% of India's crude oil production. Today, Cairn continues to hold an approximate 10% shareholding in Cairn India Limited. Cairn's business operations are now focused on frontier exploration acreage in Morocco, Senegal, Greenland and the Mediterranean along with exploration and pre-development interests in the North Sea. Cairn has its headquarters in Edinburgh, Scotland supported by operational offices in London, Greenland, Norway, Spain and Morocco. |
About SOSINA
SOSINA Exploration Ltd. is an independent oil and gas exploration company. The Company was founded in 2004, but with roots back as a sister company to the company Odegaard Ltd. acquired in 2006 by Schlumberger Inc.
SOSINA's active oil and gas portfolio includes offshore interests in Ireland and the UK. SOSINA's portfolio is balanced between appraisal and exploration assets. Comprehensive information on SOSINA and its oil and gas portfolio is available from SOSINA's website at www.sosina.co.uk.
