Longboat Energy PLC (AIM:LBE, FRA:8YG) is counting down to the spud of the Egyptian Vulture exploration well, offshore Norway, which is slated by operator Equinor for late August.
The well is targeting some 103mln barrels of prospective resources with ‘upside’ potential seen up to 208mln. It has an estimated geological chance of success of 25%.
Drilling is expected to take up to 4 weeks and the programme is estimated with a net cost of US$5mln to Longboat.
Longboat added that if the well is successful there’s potential to provide low-CO2 blending gas to the nearby Equinor operated infrastructure, which allows for rapid monetisation of a discovery.
Egyptian Vulture is the first of seven anticipated exploration wells scheduled by Longboat over the next eighteen months on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
Longboat highlighted that next in the campaign will be in September, with the 20% owned Rodhette prospect. This is similarly a potential ‘tie-back’ with the exploration well envisaged as a early monetisation play via connection to the Goliat field some 30 kilometres away.
"We are excited at the prospect of drilling our first exploration well and can now look forward to a busy period of almost continuous drilling and frequent value catalysts during the next 18 months with a combined upside value potential in excess of US$1bn,” said chief executive Helge Hammer.
"Exploration activity in Norway is picking up and during the first six months of 2021, a total of 17 exploration wells have been completed, resulting in eight discoveries.
“On Egyptian Vulture we are partnering with one of the most successful explorers on the NCS and a successful well could add more than 15mln boe of net contingent resources with significant monetisation opportunities.”
Longboat was launched in London in late 2019.
The ambitious firm, steered by the management team the built and sold Faroe Petroleum, plans to advance Longboat into a full-cycle, North Sea E&P company.
Today, Longboat added that it has seen significantly increased industry interest in the company following its initial successful farm-in deals and equity funding, and, it now intends to capitalise on this momentum to pursue value accretive acquisitions.
“We believe the momentum built by the initial acquisitions will enable us to take advantage of the increasing number of opportunities we are seeing in the market," Hammer added.