Canada’s Antrim Energy Inc. announced that recent evaluations have shown frontier exploration 
license (FEL) 1/13 in the Porcupine basin off Ireland’s west coast to contain what could be massive resources: an estimated unrisked prospective resource potential of 1.1 billion boe.
FEL 1/13, which occupies about 1052sq km in the Atlantic Ocean and is located in water depths of about 500-2000m, includes blocks 44/4, part of 44/5, 44/9, 44/10, 44/14 and 44/15, collectively known as the Skellig Block. Originally acquired as licensing option 11/5 under the under the Irish 2011 Atlantic Margin Licensing Round on 17 October 2011, FEL 1/13 was upgraded to its current exploration license status following approval from Ireland’s Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources effective 5 July 2013.
Antrium Energy also said that prospective resources were assigned to 17 leads with the block, with the report assigning a best estimate of 482MMboe (42.7% of the total) to leads C and M-3, two of the primary leads.
The resources were evaluated by McDaniel & Associates Consultants Ltd. in a report dated effective 30 June 2014.
Completed in September 2013, the 3-D seismic program “strongly indicate[d] the presence of Lower Cretaceous slope fan and channel deposits similar in geometry and seismic character to many of the recent Cretaceous oil discoveries offshore West Africa,” according to the company. Located in the Tabo basin offshore Ghana, the Jubilee field’s upper Cretaceous play is one such example. FEL 1/13 operator Kosmos Energy is also a partner in the Jubilee field, which began production in 2010 with an initial flow rate of 55,000bopd.
Drilling is set to start in 2015, Antrim said in a 2014 presentation.
FEL 1/13 is operated by Kosmos Energy, which acquired a 75% stake and the operatorship from Antrim Energy through a farm-out agreement completed in April 2013. Kosmos Energy agreed to carry the costs of the 3D seismic program as part of the terms. Antrim Energy holds the remaining 25%. Kosmos also participates in neighboring blocks FEL 2/13 and FEL 3/13.
Map from Kosmos Energy.
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Irish oil implications 'immense'
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