Falkland Oil and Gas Limited (FOGL) has reached an agreement with Premier Oil and Rockhopper Exploration to drill a further well on the Isobel/Elaine complex, offshore the Falkland Islands.
The Isobel Deep exploration well was spudded in April 2015 and an oil discovery was announced in May. The well is located on licence PL004a, in which FOGL has a 40% working interest, Premier oil is the operator with Rockhopper Exploration as another partner in the licence.
According to FOGL, this well will replace the Jayne East well in the current drilling campaign. Under an amendment to the farm-out agreement FOGL will receive $10 million from Premier Oil and Rockhopper Exploration in compensation for not drilling the Jayne East well.
FOGL will be fully carried through its 40% equity share of the well costs, as per the original farm-out agreement. There is an ongoing insurance claim with respect to the 14/20-1 Isobel Deep well and FOGL will be party to this claim.
Re-drill
FOGL says that the re-drill well will target the Isobel Deep reservoir which was oil bearing in 14/20-1, but could not be logged or sampled for mechanical reasons. This new well will be drilled a suitable distance (approximately 4km) from the original well bore and is also expected to encounter additional reservoir targets in the Elaine South and Isobel Shallow fans. It is currently anticipated that this well will be drilled after the completion of Humpback .
FOGL says that swapping Jayne East for a further well on Isobel/Elaine is subject to the final approval of the Falkland Islands Government.
Sam Moody , CEO of Rockhopper, commented: “The Isobel Deep well drilled in May significantly de-risked the Isobel/Elaine fan complex which represents a new play in a previously underexplored part of the North Falkland Basin. We are delighted that agreement has been reached to drill another well on the Isobel/Elaine complex.”
Offshore Energy Today Staff