Europa Sweetens Irish Offering
Europa Oil & Gas has acquired a licence near Ireland's largest gas field Corrib, the London-listed company said on June 11, as its search for a farm-in partner at its Irish gas portfolio continues.
Europa has taken a 100% stake in frontier exploration licence (FEL) 3/19 in the offshore Slyne basin from Norway's DNO. The licence contains the Edge prospect, estimated by its former owner Faroe Petroleum to hold up to 1.2 trillion ft3 (340bn m3) of gas. The acreage is 18 km east of Corrib, which has supplied the bulk of Ireland's gas for decades, and also lies near Europa's FEL 4/19 licence containing the 1.5 trillion-ft3 Inishkea prospect.
"We are confident that by adding FEL 3/19 to our portfolio we have not only increased the quantum of gross prospective gas resources to 2.7 trillion ft3 but have also increased the attractiveness of what was already a compelling investment proposition in the Slyne basin," Europa's interim CEO Simon Oddie said. "With gas set to play a key role in Ireland's energy mix and our licences located near Corrib and its processing infrastructure, our position benefits from having a highly attractive risk/reward profile."
Europa has been seeking a farm-in partner at Inishkea and its other Irish licences in order to fund drilling work. It suffered a setback in January when a "major oil company" walked away from partnership talks. Europa hopes to make its offering more attractive by including FEL 3/19.
Europa will make a nominal upfront fee to DNO for FEL 3/19 while also granting it a 5% interest in net profits from future production of gas and liquids.