Oil and gas firm seeks farm-out near Corrib field

Europa Oil and Gas is hoping to land a development partner to progress its gas licences close to the Corrib field.

British exploration company Europa Oil and Gas is readying an enhanced farm-out programme aimed at bringing in a development partner to bankroll its Irish offshore gas licences.

Since the Government’s ban on future oil and gas licences, Europa has significantly downsized its Irish asset base.

The company is now focused on two frontier exploration licences it holds close to the Corrib gas field off the west coast – one being the highly rated Inishkea prospect holding an estimated 1.5trn cubic feet of gas. 

The acquisition of the newer licence, carried out by Europa last summer, is still awaiting Government approval.

Europa chairman Brian O'Cathain told the company’s AGM that once that acquisition was signed off, “we intend to relaunch the farm-out of our Slyne Basin licences with a view to moving to the next development stage”. 

Mr O’Cathain said successful drilling activity offshore Ireland would be “a major liquidity event” for Europa.

"With existing production and processing facilities at Corrib, we view exploration in the Slyne as infrastructure-led, lower risk, and potentially lower cost in terms of development when compared to the unproven basins that we had been targeting elsewhere offshore Ireland," he said.