Faroese oil company Atlantic Petroleum has asked to be named the operator of two UK North Sea licenses, Orlando and Kells, as the current operator Iona Energy is under administration.
Atlantic Petroleum informed on Friday, November 25 it has issued notices to Iona Energy Company (UK) Limited that it requests that special meetings of the Joint Operating Committees of UK Licenses P.1606 and P.1607, the Orlando and Kells licenses, are held to consider the removal of Iona Energy as the operator of the licenses.
Further, Atlantic asked for it to be elected as the operator of the licenses in accordance with the joint operating agreement, dealing with an entity in administration.
According to the company, Iona as the operator must call such special meeting not less than seven nor more than ten days after receipt of the request from Atlantic Petroleum North Sea Limited.
Prior to these notices, Atlantic said last Thursday in its 3Q 2016 report it was in discussions with stakeholders about the asset with an aim to secure a deal where the company retains value in the project either through participation or through securing a share of the future revenue from Orlando.
Atlantic Petroleum CEO, Ben Arabo , said: “We have been working constructively with interested parties to resolve the issues around Orlando and Kells since Iona went into administration, and had entered into a sale and purchase agreement on our 25% of Orlando. This agreement was not concluded because the counterparty was unable to complete.
“We now think that the Orlando project needs to move forward with an active operator in line with the obligations to the UK government under the license, and we are taking steps to ensure that this will happen. The Orlando development is an attractive development opportunity and we are working with interested parties and our funders to deliver value from Orlando.”