During the next few months Xtract Energy (LON:XTR) will be focusing on the company’s North Sea projects, where it plans to drill two wells in Denmark and the Netherlands in the final quarter of the year.

The firm, which released its interim results for the six months to June 30 this afternoon, has an interest in offshore Denmark through its Elko Energy subsidiary, which Xtract has now finished acquiring.

Elko Energy holds a 33-per cent working interest in two exploration licences there and these licences cover a combined area of 3,638 square kilometres. According to Xtract, they offer P50 un-risked  prospective resources of 747 million barrels of oil.

The partners in Denmark have already selected a location for the first well, to be called Luna. Xtract said the well will be drilled to test the Rotleigendes play in an optimum position for reservoir quality, thickness and hydrocarbon charge in the combined prospective area.

In the Netherlands, also offshore, Elko Energy and Elko Exploration hold interests on the P1 and P2 blocks operated by Chevron. Chevron plans to drill an appraisal well on block P2 during the fourth quarter of 2011 with its main objective being to evaluate commercial hydrocarbon flow rates from an extended-reach horizontal well within the Rotleigendes sandstone reservoir. This well programme is expected to last 100 days.

After making an offer in June to acquire outstanding shares that Xtract did not already own in Elko Energy, the firm has now completed the acquisition of the business. Meanwhile, Xtract has also disposed of its 50-per cent holding in Extrem Energy.

“We are very happy to have now completed the acquisition of Elko Energy Inc. and the disposal of our interest in Extrem Energy AS,” said Peter Moir, Xtract’s chief executive. “These transactions allow management to more effectively focus on core business areas moving forward. We are excited about our future prospects, particularly in the North Sea where we have two wells being drilled in the next quarter.”

The firm made a net loss of £1.2 million during the first half, compared with a £10.3 million loss in H1 2010. Meanwhile, cash on its balance sheet at the end of June stood at £4.6 million (December 31 2010: £8.8 million).