With a formal announcement of its 2013 drilling results scheduled for March, Cairn Energy PLC says it plans to drill nine wells this year. According to the company, its 2014 exploration program will be conducted across a mix of frontier and mature basins.
The company operated JM-I exploration well is in the Juby Maritime III Block offshore Morocco. This multiwell drilling program began in October 2013 (OGJ Online, Oct. 28, 2013).
The company will follow its Moroccan program with two wells offshore Senegal and one well offshore West of Ireland. The company also plans to acquire a 500 sq km 3D seismic survey on acreage adjacent to the Spanish Point discovery. This is near a 1,130 sq km area where Ireland’s government is subject to convert license option blocks to exploration license (FEL 1/14), in which Cairn holds a 38% operating interest.
Cairn and its joint-venture partners are continuing to mature plans for the Pitu block offshore North West Greenland.
The company also plans to drill an exploration well in the Atlantic Margin on the Cap Boujdour Contract Area where it has a 20% working interest with Kosmos Energy (55% working interest as operator) and the Moroccan National Oil Co. (ONHYM), which holds a 25% working interest.
Cairn will continue to develop its mature basin exploration in the North Sea. It has four nonoperated wells scheduled in 2014, including Tulla and Aragon on the UK Continental Shelf, in which the company holds 50% and 30% working interests, respectively.
On the Norwegian Continental Shelf, Cairn has reached an agreement to acquire 20% equity in the Atlas prospect adjacent to its Skarfjell concession.
On Jan. 15, Wintershall Norge AS reported it had successfully delineated the 35/9-7 oil discovery, also known as Skarfjell. Two appraisal wells, 35/9-10 S and A, were drilled about 40 km north of the Troll field and 2 km southeast of the initial discovery well (OGJ Online, Apr. 9, 2013).
Wintershall Norge holds a 35% working interest as operator of license PL418 (Norwegian North Sea) in which Cairn has a 20% interest.
Cairn’s current P90-P10 resource estimate is 66-146 million bbl of oil or 120-229 million boe.
