Northern Petroleum

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Northern Petroleum Plc is an oil and gas exploration, development and production company focused on the European Union and nearby areas. The Company is an operator of both onshore and offshore projects including a producing oilfield and boasts a management and technical team of the highest quality.

Northern Petroleum signs seismic collaboration pact with PGS to identify new oil and gas licenses

Monday, June 28, 2010 by Sergei Balashov
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Western Europe operating oil and gas company Northern Petroleum (LON:NOP) has signed a strategic seismic collaboration agreement with offshore seismic acquisition and processing specialist Petroleum Geo Services’ division PGS Ventures AS to design geophysical programmes across Northern’s assets and identify potential new licenses for the company.

The agreement formalizes an already existing relationship between the two companies. Earlier this year Northern acquired a 1,520 sq km (square kilometre) 3D seismic survey offshore Sicily utilising PGS's unique GeoStreamer technology, which was targeted at providing the highest resolution of the substantial structures already mapped on 2D seismic data within the fold and thrust belt setting.

Northern will now gain access to PGS' multi-client seismic data in the Mediterranean, North Sea and other areas of mutual agreement, which will include including its main areas of focus, offshore Italy and the Netherlands. The seismic surveys are planned to enhance prospectivity of the company’s acreage offshore Italy, including in the southern Adriatic, and help it achieve improved farmout terms for drilling.

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Where possible, and as appropriate, Northern will seek to leverage on PGS' proprietary technology such as GeoStreamer.

“We look forward to working with PGS Ventures to improve the development potential of our substantial asset portfolio further both in Italy and The Netherlands. Northern will also benefit from access to the PGS data library, which will allow us to evaluate opportunities for additional expansion,” said Exploration & Technical Director of Northern Petroleum Graham Heard.

During 2009, Northern upped its proven and probable oil reserves by 34.6% and raised production to 1,320 bblspd (barrels of oil per day) after making a record capital investment of €29.7 million.

Net proven and probable reserves stood at 102.9 mmbbls (million barrels) at the end of the year compared to 76.4 mmbbls a year earlier, while production was 3.5 times higher at 1,320 bopd. Two seismic surveys were conducted during the year, recording 3,067 km (kilometres) of 2D data and the company set up a 1,520 sq km (square kilometre) 3D survey recorded in early 2010.

During the year, the Grolloo and Geesburg fields were placed on production at enhanced flow rates following hydraulic fracturing. Other highlights included the completion of a 3D survey with JV (joint venture) partner Shell Italia and the acquisition of ATI Oil and the establishment of a UK-based project at the Baxters Copse oil discovery, which is estimated to have 5.36 mmbbls of 2P (proven and probable) reserves.

Northern Petroleum has also attracted new partners in Shell (LON:RDSB) and Total (NYSE:TOT) to its venture with Tullow Oil (LON:TLW) offshore Guyana after completing a 2,500 sq km 3D seismic survey to set up the first well and “reinforce confidence” in the project.

The company is also planning to drill two wells onshore England in 2010 with at least one more in 2011 with two targeting proven and probable reserves after an independent audit confirmed their potential.
Shares in the company rose 3% on the news.


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Additional Information

Market:AIM
Sector:Energy
EPIC:NOP
Latest Price: 88.50p  (-3.80% Descending)
52-week High:163.00p
52-week Low:84.00p
Market Cap:84.54M

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