Petroceltic to take 40% stake in Italian sites

OIL and gas company Petroceltic, which changed its name from Ennex last year, said yesterday that it had signed a deal to take a 40% stake in two exploration sites in Italy.

Petroceltic will buy an initial 15% interest in the two fields from Rigo Oil, a local oil company that will remain as a partner in the projects, and has the option to increase its stake until a decision is made to start drilling at the sites.

Petroceltic executive chairman Brian Cusack said the new deal fitted into the strategy of buying “low cost, high impact appraisal projects” in an area that had already established the presence of oil. Oil was discovered in one of the blocks, off the eastern coast of Italy, in the early 1990s. The company said its evaluation work showed the field had the potential to contain up to 300 million barrels of oil.