Oil firm ‘excited’ at Irish prospect

British exploration firm, Europa Oil and Gas has said it definitely intends to participate in the Government’s 2015 Atlantic Margin licensing round and hopes to begin drilling at its existing assets, off the west coast, during 2016.

The London-based explorer alluded to its Irish assets — it co-owns, with US explorer, Kosmos Energy, two prospects in the south Porcupine Basin, off the Kerry coast — earlier this week, when updating on drilling progress at one of its onshore UK assets.

It said that it is due to receive a new prospect inventory from Kosmos, based on 3D seismic data acquired late last year, concerning its two prospects, both of which, it added, “have company-making potential”.

Last year, Kosmos acquired an 85% stake in Europa’s two Irish licensing options, which have a combined total resource potential of around two billion barrels of oil.

“We will be issuing a CPR [competent persons’ report/third party analysis] for the updated prospects in the fourth quarter. Subject to the results, Kosmos continues to advise that a first well [at the Porcupine Basin], for which we are fully funded could be spudded in 2016,” Hugh Mackay, Europa’s chief executive said.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Mr Mackay added that Europa remains “very excited” about the Atlantic Margin region of the Irish offshore play and that while the Government’s new fiscal/tax terms for future oil finds in Irish waters, “are not as good as the old ones”, his company “definitely plans to participate” in the upcoming licensing round which remains open until this time next year.

Earlier this year, the Government raised the tax ceiling on profits from all future oil and gas finds, though not retrospectively to licences already granted, with the maximum rate rising from 40% to 55%.

A good barometer of interest in the new licensing round is expected to be provided by attendance sizes at this year’s annual Atlantic Ireland industry conference in Dublin in October. By June, the organisers had 30 exhibitors confirmed and were expecting between 300 and 400 attendees.