Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) PLC has now completed its ‘farm-in’ acquisition into the Serenity project, in the UK North Sea, joining new partner i3 Energy PLC.
The deal was agreed in April and was subject to approval from the North Sea Transition Authority and other customary conditions, which have now all been satisfied and it is now complete.
"I'm pleased that we have now completed the final formalities of the Serenity farm-in and look forward to updating the market as we progress, with i3 Energy as operator, towards starting drilling operations in early September," said Europa Oil CEO Simon Oddie.
“The Serenity appraisal well, an important near-term catalyst for Europa, has the potential to prove sufficient recoverable volumes to justify a standalone development and could deliver significant near-term value to our shareholders."
Majid Shafiq, i3 chief executive, added: "We are delighted to have successfully completed the farm-out agreement for Serenity and to welcome Europa as our joint venture partner in the discovery.
“The next significant step is to drill the appraisal well, which is on track for spud in September. The well will help us delineate the size of the field and provide the critical information required to formulate an effective development plan for a potentially very large oil field.
“We look forward to updating the market on our progress at what is an exciting time for i3's North Sea acreage."
i3 retains a 75% interest in the Serenity project, whilst Europa is earning a 25% stake by paying 46.25% of the cost of the planned well.