Sound Energy PLC (LON:SOU) is expanding its collaboration with oil service giant Schlumberger from Morocco to Italy with the latter helping fund a potentially game-changing gas well.
The US firm has agreed to provide €7.5mln of drilling services for the Badile prospect in the country’s Piedmont Lombard Basin.
It stands to receive 20% of the profits from a successful well for effectively stumping up 30% of the costs.
The collaboration started with Schlumberger footing a significant portion of the bill for an appraisal well earlier this year well on the Tendara licence in eastern Morocco.
Sound chief executive James Parsons said: “The Schlumberger-Sound Energy partnership, which now spans multiple assets and multiple geographies, remains a critical differentiator for our company which technically de-risks and funds our key asset.
“I look forward to the continued broadening of this partnership across existing and new assets."
Badile is one of Sound’s high impact wells and as such has the potential to boost the company’s valuation.
It is thought to host 178bn cubic feet of natural gas with a net present value of €486mln.