Europa Oil & Gas Holdings Plc (LON:EOG) chief executive Hugh Mackay told investors that the explorer is looking at adding a third ‘core’ area, on top of its acreage offshore Ireland and its interests onshore UK.
“Outside our existing portfolio, we are actively looking to add a third core area of interest and are evaluating several opportunities at various stages of development,” Mackay said, in the company’s interim results statement.
READ: Europa Oil & Gas to focus on Inishkea prospects close to Corrib gas field
“With their considerable experience and extensive network of contacts within the sector, recent Board appointments Simon Oddie and Brian O'Cathain, are already making valuable contributions to this process.”
Aside from possible new ventures, the company’s results highlighted the ongoing progress with technical desktop work to advance the Irish assets - where the company is now fast-tracking and focussing on prospects in the Slyne basin, in proximity to the large producing Corib gas field.
Six prospects have to date been identified in the exploration area, with the combined potential estimated at some 2.5 trillion cubic feet of gas initially in place. The company has noted that a pending prospective resource figure is now expected to be significantly higher than the 1 TCF that had previously mapped in the area.
Internally, this new inventory (to be known as the Inishkea prospects) are now considered to be the group’s ‘flagship’ assets.
Later this year, the company intends to complete an updated prospect inventory for three of its South Porcupine licences and that will coincide with the relaunch of a fresh partnering process.
“Technical work across our offshore Ireland licences is progressing on schedule and most importantly the 3D seismic PSDM reprocessing projects are producing the uplift in data quality we were looking for,” Mackay said.
“In the Slyne Basin next to the Corrib gas field we have been impressed with the results to date and are therefore fast tracking further work on our Inishkea prospects in LO 16/20 so that we are in a position to drill a well targeting ‘company-making’ gas resources in a proven play close to existing infrastructure as early as 2019.”
He added: “In the South Porcupine, improved mapping on reprocessed 3D seismic will lower geological risk for several prospects that make up the 2 billion barrels of oil equivalent of audited prospective resources and 2.2 billion boe of prospective in-house resources that have already been mapped. “
Onshore UK, the company retains a stake in the Wressle discovery - which had stalled due to the planning approval process - and a stake in the Holmwood exploration site which lies in the vicinity of the increasingly high profile Horse Hill project.
“We will be working hard with our partners to satisfy all outstanding matters so that both projects can be advanced,” Mackay added.
In terms of financial results, Europa reported £800,000 of revenue for the six month period and made a £500,000 loss. At the end of the period, January 31, it had £2.3mln of cash.