As Jersey Oil & Gas Plc (LON:JOG) releases financial results for 2017 all attentions are fixed on the follow-up drilling planned for the Verbier discovery later this year.
An appraisal well is planned by project operator Statoil to further test Verbier this summer, and it is described by Jersey as exciting near-term activity.
Verbier was discovered during the reporting period, the twelve months ended December 31, and it has been estimated to host up to 130mln barrels of oil equivalent resources.
WATCH: Jersey Oil & Gas's Benitz: North Sea an exciting place to explore again
Among other things, the upcoming appraisal well will provide clearer insight into the discovery’s potential scale and commercial merits.
“Our exploration drilling programme on our highly exciting Verbier prospect in October delivered a stand out discovery in the North Sea which we look forward to appraising this summer,” said Andrew Benitz, Jersey chief executive.
“Our successful fundraising in October has meant that the Company is well funded for the upcoming work programme on the P2170 licence."
Jersey owns 18% of Verbier and it has quickly become the company’s most significant asset.
Separate farm-out deals with Statoil and co-venturer CIECO meant Jersey was carried for US$27.4mln of the Verbier drilling costs.
In November, the AIM-quoted company raised £23.8mln of new capital, and it ended 2017 with £25.4mln of cash and had no debt.
The pre-revenue group reported a £726,000 profit for the year, due to a reimbursement of costs via the farm-out.
On top of the Verbier appraisal, the exploration partners recently committed to pre-fund a 3D seismic survey covering the licence area, examining the Verbier discovery area as well as the Cortina follow-on exploration prospect. The programme is expected to produce its final data in the first quarter of 2019.