US-based Noble Energy acquired from Argos Resources a 75% interest and operatorship of 285,000 gross acres in the PL001 license in the North Falkland basin, northwest of the PL032 license that includes the Sea Lion oil discovery.
Edison International SpA obtained the remaining 25%. Noble and Edison will provide to Argos a 5% royalty override from development on the license. Noble and Edison have elected to defer a potential second well in the South and East Falkland basin.
Noble identified the Rhea prospect as its initial target on the PL001 license. Rhea is a Cretaceous-aged stratigraphic trap prospect with multiple reservoir targets and total estimated gross mean unrisked resources in excess of 250 MMbbl of oil. Water depth is about 1550ft and target total well depth is 8760ft.
Drilling in Rhea, to begin in 3Q 2015, marks Noble Energy's second slot on the 2015 Falkland Islands drilling campaign. The company's initial operated Falkland Islands prospect, Humpback, is expected to commence drilling by early May 2015. Humpback, in the South Falkland basin, is the first of multiple stacked fan prospects clustered together in the Fitzroy sub-basin and has estimated gross mean unrisked resources of more than 250 MMbbl of oil, with the cluster of prospects in the sub-basin totaling over 1 B bbl of oil. Humpback is in 4170ft deep water and is targeted to be drilled to a total depth of 17,550ft. Noble holds 35% interest in the South Falkland basin.
Elsewhere, UK-based Falklands explorer Premier Oil spudded its second 2015 exploration campaign well in the north Falklands basin. The 14/20-1 well on Isobel Deep in exploration license PL004a has the potential to open up a new development area. It follows Premier’s successful exploration well on the Zebedee prospect in the North Falkland basin. That well, part of an overall five- to six-well exploration campaign in the Falklands by Premier and Noble under a rig sharing agreement, is being drilled using the Eirik Raude semisubmersible drilling. No coring or testing is planned.
Read more:
Premier spuds latest Falklands target
Falklands success for Premier Oil
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