Meinungen zu Falkland Oil and Gas ???
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3:11 pm by Giles Gwinnett
http://bit.ly/svMUu1
Oriel rates the stock a 'buy' and Rose said FOGL remained committed to drilling on Loligo and was funded to drill a second well on a shallow Tertiary target such as Nimrod or Vinson
Falkland Oil and Gas (LON:FOGL) remains committed to drilling the giant Loligo prospect in its Northern licence area and is funded to drill a second well, analyst Richard Rose of Oriel Securities highlighted today.
His note comes after the firm announced that the Leiv Eiriksson rig is expected to arrive in the Falklands in late January 2012.
Once it arrives, the rig will first drill two wells for Borders and Southern (LON:BOR) and FOGL expects to spud its well during Q2.
Oriel rates the stock a 'buy' and Rose said FOGL remained committed to drilling on Loligo and was funded to drill a second well on a shallow Tertiary target such as Nimrod or Vinson.
But the analyst did say: "However, given a review of the latest budgets they can only drill a second well if they target a shallower well on Loligo rather than drilling on to test the deeper targets in the prospect.
"The company's preference is for a second well on the Scotia prospect in the Mid Cretaceous although they would require additional funding to drill this prospect.
"There is also the option to drill the Inflexible prospect in the south if Borders have encouragement on their Darwin well," said the analyst.
Rose also said discussions were ongoing with potential partners about a farm-out whilst it has also been announced that BHP Billiton do not now have the right to back-in to the Loligo well if it is a success (previously had a right to back-in up to 40 per cent).
As at June 30, the company had around US$150million of available resources including US$40 mln from BHP to drill Loligo as part of its assignment of the Northern licence area to FOGL, said Rose.
http://bit.ly/vLWkgF
In addition, investors had more updates from the closely followed exploration campaign in the Falkland Islands to digest this week.
Rockhopper Exploration (LON:RKH) this week confirmed that it has completed coring operations for the sidetrack to the 14/10-9z well.
Earlier this month Rockhopper revealed that the latest appraisal well on the Sea Lion complex was a success. Additionally the well also made a new oil discovery in the Casper exploration target.
A sidetrack was subsequently drilled to help gather more information on these reservoirs.
The sidetrack was drilled to a total depth of 2600 metres. And 60 metres of core was cut through Casper and Sea Lion reservoirs.
Rockhopper’s next well will be a joint venture with Desire Petroleum (LON:DES) in the recently agreed farm in area.
The well will target the most southerly extent of the Sea Lion Main Complex, and it will also test the Beverley exploration prospect.
Meanwhile, Falkland Oil and Gas (LON:FOGL) told investors that the Leiv Eiriksson rig is expected to arrive in the Falklands in late January.
To read this announcement in full please click on the link below:
http://www.fogl.com/fogl/en/Media/pressreleases
http://www.edisoninvestmentresearch.co.uk/...c_reflections_091211.pdf
Seismic reflections
Listening out for the Falklands jungle drums
Interest in Falklands oil exploration has dwindled during 2011 as investors
limit exposure to the frontier region. However, with Rockhopper nearing the
end of its extended Sea Lion appraisal campaign, a second discovery
having been confirmed in the shape of Casper, and most critically the Leiv
Eiriksson drilling rig coming over the horizon to start drilling in the South
Falklands Basin, we expect interest to pick up significantly in the new year.
Enthusiasm may not reach the peaks of 2010’s hysteria, but the region
continues to offer some of the cheapest proven oil in the ground along with
excellent upside for the frontier exploration investo
Press coverage dries up
Column inches during 2010 became as inflated as valuations when Rockhopper
bagged its maiden discovery at Sea Lion. However, more recently front page
spreads have been replaced with only the briefest of mentions. Indeed, confirmation
last month of a second discovery in the shape of Casper was greeted in one
leading trade journal with a paltry one inch of text and 36 words.
Investors take flight
Despite the almost heroic efforts of Rockhopper to fully appraise its Sea Lion
prospect, with eight appraisal wells almost all on prognosis and two flow tests
driving resource estimates up to 389mmbbls, the interest in the North Falklands
Basin has continued to wane. Most recently close neighbours Desire and Argos
effectively declared they had failed to raise funds to drill additional holes before the
Ocean Guardian rig leaves for the North Sea in the new year. Although geologically
completely different, this malaise has also spread to the South Falklands Basin
where Borders and Southern and Falkland Oil & Gas have suffered despite having
still to spin the drill-bit on any of their top assets.
Bullish sentiment set to return?
With the imminent arrival of the Leiv Eiriksson in January 2012 to drill two wells
each for Borders and FOGL, we expect to see the column inches start to return.
Both companies are true elephant hunters, with FOGL in particular targeting the
biggest of the prospects in Loligo at 4.5bn barrels. Both companies offer excellent
upside potential with Borders trading at $0.6/bbl of post-drill resources and FOGL
as low as $0.2/bbl on the same basis. Coupled with this is Rockhopper nearing the
end of its appraisal campaign after which a data room will be opened and a CPR
prepared to either entice equity partners or secure reserve-based lending. We look
to all of this contributing both to greater interest and a more bullish sentiment for a
region that has suffered unduly in difficult markets.
Oil & Gas - Seismic reflections: Listening out for the Falklands jungle drums Click for report
Interest in Falklands oil exploration has dwindled during 2011 as investors limit exposure to the frontier region. However, with Rockhopper nearing the end of its extended Sea Lion appraisal campaign, a second discovery having been confirmed in the shape of Casper, and most critically the Leiv Eiriksson drilling rig coming over the horizon to start drilling in the South Falklands Basin, we expect interest to pick up significantly in the new year. Enthusiasm may not reach the peaks of 2010’s hysteria, but the region continues to offer some of the cheapest proven oil in the ground along with excellent upside for the frontier exploration investor.
Exploring for oil in Falklands threatens to open old wounds
By Sylvia Pfeifer and Michael Kavanagh
http://on.ft.com/vpcoCg
For the past several weeks, the 53,000-tonne Leiv Eiriksson deepwater drilling rig has been slowly making its way from Greenland to another remote location on the other side of the world.
After a disappointing run in the Arctic, where the rig had been exploring for Cairn Energy but found no oil, the Leiv Eiriksson’s new clients are hoping for more luck in the Falkland Islands.
Borders & Southern, a London-listed explorer, plans to drill two wells next year to the south of the islands. It is among a handful of British companies – optimistically dubbed “sheikhs of the South Atlantic” – that have raised money from investors betting that waters around the UK-controlled archipelago could be home to some of the world’s last great undiscovered oil reserves.
Yet if drilling for oil in the Arctic is environmentally sensitive, exploring off the Falklands is equally contentious. This week’s announcement of a ban by Mercosur, the South American trade bloc, on Falkland-flagged ships docking in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay has revived tensions with Britain ahead of next year’s 30th anniversary of the Argentine invasion of the disputed islands.
The flare-up has highlighted the geopolitical stakes involved in the hunt for fossil fuels around the Falklands – but the companies involved insist they will not be deterred.
“We’ve been here before,” says David Hudd, chairman of Falkland Islands Holdings, the largest private sector employer on the islands with interests in retailing, property and transport. It also owns a small stake in Falkland Oil & Gas. “Argentina’s president is escalating the rhetoric but this will increase the resolve of the Falkland Islanders.”
The current exploration campaign – involving 15 wells drilled over the past two years – is the first since 1998 when Royal Dutch Shell and others found evidence of oil and gas but not in commercial quantities.
Estimates as to the size of the prize vary. An analysis more than a decade ago by the British Geological Survey said the range could be anywhere between 1.2bn and 60bn barrels for the rock basin to the north of the Islands.
There have been four discoveries so far, including Rockhopper Exploration’s Sea Lion field, which could alone hold more than 1.3bn barrels.
Some investors, however, remain sceptical. Shares in Rockhopper have more than halved since it first brought oil to the surface at Sea Lion last year amid mixed progress by other exploration companies.
While the political dispute with Argentina has not stopped drilling, it has added to the challenges and costs. The industry transports all its equipment and directs all its supply activities direct from either the UK or the US, avoiding Latin American waters. Industry executives argue the increased costs are not sufficient to deter buyers if a big discovery is found.
“Once you find something, investors are not worried. The question is, will the dispute limit your funding opportunities,” says Richard Savage from Mirabaud Securities. “Some banks with big exposure to South America may be under pressure not to lend to these companies.”
Tim Bushell at Falkland Oil and Gas, however, plays down the threat of Latin American embargoes. “When large hydrocarbon deposits are found, the industry rushes in at that point,” he says. “I’d be most surprised, if there is a significant discovery, if the big companies don’t come in.”
He described the latest diplomatic row as “sabre rattling”, adding that there would be no need for Falkland oil to be piped or shipped to Latin America. Instead, oil would be lifted to floating storage vessels, supported from Port Stanley, and shipped directly to key markets in North America, Europe and Asia.
A key test will come next year when Rockhopper starts talks to find a partner to farm its Sea Lion acreage. The company has also he
9:00 am by Jamie Ashcroft
The pace that the Kurdistan oil play has advanced in 2011 is an example of the excitement that can be created by new and emerging oil frontiers
The pace that the Kurdistan oil play has advanced in 2011 is an example of the excitement that can be created by new and emerging oil frontiers.
The semi-autonomous region of northern Iraq is one of the world’s last great oil frontiers, according to former BP boss Tony Hayward.
This widely cited comment was made amid the summer’s frenzied land grab in Kurdistan when in a few short weeks most of the region’s prospective land was snapped up by mid-tier oil companies.
The period also saw Vallares, then a £2 billion vehicle for Hayward and City financier Nat Rothschild, merge with Turkish firm Genel, one of the leading players in Kurdistan. Afren (LON:AFR) and Petroceltic (LON:PCI) also inked deals in the region.
In fact, barely a week goes by without further deals being agreed. So far the majors are yet to show their hands, though there are reports, still not confirmed, that ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) is ready to plant its flag in Kurdistan.
The experience of Gulf Keystone Petroleum (LON:GKP) is an interesting case study of how success with the drill bit in a newly emerging sphere of interest can utterly transform a company’s fortunes.
Borrowing parlance used by gold prospectors of old, GKP has hit the mother lode with its Shaikan discovery in Kurdistan, which is estimated to contain between 8 and 13.4 billion barrels of oil
Prior to striking first oil in August 2009, shares in the explorer were changing hands at just 13p. Now, nearly two years on, they are worth just under 200p a share, which values the company at £1.6 billion.
It is a vivid illustration of what can happen to a junior explorer when it strikes big in an up-and-coming oil frontier.
Another potentially world-class oil frontier is found in the harsh environment of the south Atlantic, in the waters off the Falkland Islands.
Up until now Rockhopper Exploration (LON:RKH) and Desire Petroleum (LON:DES) have led the way in the Falklands, albeit with varying degrees of success.
Their exploration campaign in the North Falkland basin is now drawing to a close after making three discoveries – Sea Lion, Casper and Beverley.
Rockhopper’s emphasis in 2012 will be on the future development of the Sea Lion oilfield. Desire, meanwhile, will hope to build on the success it did manage with the final well so that it can afford to get a drill rig back to work in the future.
For Borders & Southern (LON:BOR) and Falkland Oil and Gas (LON:FOGL), however, it will be a very different story.
The Leiv Eiriksson rig is scheduled to arrive in the South Atlantic shortly. Borders & Southern intends to drill two wells starting in late January. After that the rig will drill at least one well for FOGL starting in late April or early May.
A third potentially world class frontier is also developing in East Africa, where a series of large gas discoveries off the coast of Mozambique and Tanzania have already enticed the majors.
These projects are now beginning to move towards the development phase but there is still plenty of early stage excitement onshore.
In Tanzania, Aminex (LON:AEX) is leading a group of explorers, which also includes Solo Oil (LON:SOLO) and Tullow (LON:TLW), in a drilling campaign in the Rovuma basin.
The Ntorya-1 exploration well is being drilled in an onshore location in the Rovuma basin, which has already provided other explorers with a great deal of success offshore.
The well is believed to have a one-in-four chance of success. If successful, a discovery is likely to be in the order of 100 million barrels of oil, or 600 million cubic feet of gas.
Meanwhile further inland, Heritage Oil (LON:HOIL) will start a seismic exploration programme in the Rukwa Rift Basin in western Tanzania.
Heritage believes that Rukwa shares geological similarities with the Albert Basin of Uganda. There the company discovered a number of commercially viable oilfields.
Meanwhile in Somalia, Range Resources (LON:RRL) and Red Emperor’s (LON:RMP) upcoming drill campaign in the Puntland region is hotly anticipated among investors.
Work will focus on the Dharoor and Nugaal valleys which cover nearly 36,000 square kilometres and have been assessed to potentially contain 19 billion barrels of oil in place.
The two scheduled exploration wells could be a catalyst for the shares, according to analysts at Panmure Gordon.
Nearer home, Ireland could provide another exciting regional oil play.
Admittedly it is not the first destination to spring to mind when considering emerging oil regions but drilling work in the year ahead could really put the Republic’s nascent oil industry on the map.
The assets in question were discovered in the 1970s and 80s. But the projects were set aside and largely forgotten about as they failed to match up to the big North Sea projects of the era.
Times have changed along with technology, which will allow these prospects to be explored and exploited far more profitably than they ever could. The economics also look far more enticing at $100 a barrel of oil.
With the spudding of the Barryroe appraisal well earlier this month, Providence Resources (LON:PVR) kicked off a major drilling programme that will last throughout 2012 and into 2013.
Lansdowne Oil & Gas (LON:LOGP) and San Leon Energy (LON:SLE) will also be involved as partners throughout the campaign.
http://econ.st/sGRYWh
Desire, Borders & Southern and FOGL to hog the Falklands limelight in 2012
The Leiv Eiriksson rig deepwater drilling, which is headed for the Falklands The Leiv Eiriksson rig deepwater drilling rig will be the next high profile arrival in the Falklands during 2012.
So far Rockhopper Exploration (LON:RKH) and Desire Petroleum (LON:DES) have almost exclusively held the spotlight in the Falkland oil frontier.
However the arrival of the Leiv Eiriksson rig in January will see investor attention switch to the deeper water targets of the Falkland South basin.
Borders & Southern (LON:BOR) will be the first to put the rig to work. The firm intends to drill two wells starting in late January. After that the rig will drill at least one well for Falkland Oil and Gas (LON:FOGL) starting in late April or early May.
The south basin’s reservoirs are believed to be larger than those encountered in the north basin.
Borders’ first target, called the Darwin prospect, is estimated to contain 300-760 million barrels of recoverable oil, while the second target, called Stebbing, is estimated between 710 million and 1.28 billion barrels of recoverable oil.
FOGL’s final target selection is likely to be influenced by the outcome of Borders’ wells.
The drill programme will be watched keenly by the oil industry as well as investors.
After BHP Billiton pulled out of its partnership with FOGL in late 2009 new farm-out partners have been sought to help fund an extended drill programme.
Analysts believe that positive drill results from the early wells could spark a deal and it could also support for some kind of equity-based funding.
So, the first half of 2012 may prove to be a busy period for these two plucky juniors as they strive for success both in the Falklands and the City of London.
To the north, work will be confined to what can be done on the desktop.
The Ocean Guardian drill rig will shortly leave the Falklands after an extended session working for Rockhopper and Desire.
The campaign produced three discoveries. Of them Rockhopper’s Sea Lion is the most advanced.
With the final well of that programme now being completed each firm will have distinctly different agendas in the coming months.
Rockhopper’s emphasis will be towards the future development of the Sea Lion oilfield.
Earlier this month Rockhopper told investors it would focus on engineering and financing as it moves towards a final investment decision for a future oilfield development.
This could involve bringing in a new partner, it said in the interim results statement. Rockhopper explained that it has prepared a data room for potential industry partners and debt providers to assess Sea Lion discovery.
Rockhopper’s initial assessment of the project’s scope, revealed in September, estimated development costs of $2 billion.
That initial plan assumed first oil would occur in early 2016. It estimated that the field could achieve maximum production of 120,000 barrels a day by 2018.
The firm has had further appraisal success since those initial figures were unveiled and the details are likely to be revised as the desktop work progresses.
Desire will have to wait for the drill rig to return before it can start making such plans. The same goes for Argos Resources (LON:ARG), which this year captured what it described as the best 3D seismic data in the Falklands to date.
Argos is considering options to fund an ambitious Falklands drilling programme including bringing on board an industry partner.
The company says its excellent quality 3D seismic data means that a multi-well exploration drilling programme is required to assess the full potential of its licence area – which is adjacent to the licence that hosts Rockhopper’s Sea Lion.
So it seems that 2012 will be another big year for the Falklands oil story.
FALKLANDS BOOM IN THE PIPELINE
David Hudd says Falkland Islands could be on verge of exciting future
Saturday January 7,2012
By Daily Express Reporter
Have your say(0)
THIRTY years after the war that defeated the Argentinians, the Falkland Islands are facing another invasion. Although there is still some sabre rattling from Buenos Aires, those eyeing up the islands this time have a more peaceful target in mind. The Falklands are the focus of a “black gold rush” as a string of exploration companies seek to be the first to find commercially viable reserves in the region.
So far, a number of wells have turned out to be duds, but one firm, Rockhopper Exploration, has struck what could be a huge field at its Sea Lion prospect in the North Falklands Basin, raising hopes of more to come.
As summer arrives, the huge Leiv Eiricsson drilling rig has been towed half way round the world to begin a new round of drilling for two rivals, Falkland Oil and Gas and Borders & Southern.
There is a growing possibility that the islands could be at the centre of a boom to rival that of the early North Sea fields in the Sixties and Seventies, though investors know that such frontier exploration can be high risk.
Not only does 2012 mark the anniversary of the Falklands War, it is also 160 years since the foundation of the Falkland Islands Holding Company which operates a range of businesses on the islands from stevedoring and insurance to shops, car showrooms and tourist boat trips.
Chairman David Hudd says it is a very exciting time for the company, the islands and the islanders and his company stands to be a winner whatever the outcome of drilling.
It has a direct stake of nearly 6 per cent in Falkland Oil and Gas but stands to benefit if a rival strikes it rich because of its key role in the local economy and what could turn out to be lucrative property and land holdings.
Founded in 1852 with a Royal Charter, FIH has undergone a number of changes of ownership and was floated on the junior Aim market in 1998, with a current stock market value of £26million.
Hudd said: “This will be our biggest year. We will know if Rockhopper are able to develop their field. I’m more excited about the prospects than at any time in the 10 years I’ve been involved.” SEARCH CITY & BUSINESS for:
The view of the company, which also owns the Portsmouth Harbour Ferry Company in England and London-based art transport and storage specialist MoMart, is that there is an 85 per cent chance of commercial oil production.
Although the infrastructure has been much improved since the war, there are few hotels, no civilian air terminal and only limited flights.
If oil is discovered it would trigger huge demand for additional flights and accommodation, creating big opportunities for FIH to develop its own services and work alongside companies brought in for major projects.
The islands already attract more than 50,000 visitors a year eager to see the region’s amazing wildlife.
Hudd said: “This is looking to be something on the verge of being very exciting. It could be very, very big, running into billions of pounds.” But he cautioned: “It is not going to happen overnight. We are talking over a decade.”
Tuesday, January 10th 2012 - 21:09 UTC
Falklands’ “black gold rush” means a decade of big money, with or without oil
Thirty years after the Falkland Islands conflict, the South Atlantic Islands are the focus of a “black gold rush” as a string of exploration companies seek to be the first to find commercially viable reserves in the region, writes the London Express City & Business.
PrintShareCommentSo far, a number of wells have turned out to be duds, but one firm, Rockhopper Exploration, has struck what could be a huge field at its Sea Lion prospect in the North Falklands Basin, raising hopes of more to come.
As summer advances in the southern hemisphere the huge Leiv Eiricsson drilling rig has been towed half way round the world from Greenland to begin a new round of drilling for two rivals, Falkland Oil and Gas and Borders & Southern.
And there is a growing possibility that the Islands could be at the centre of a boom to rival that of the early North Sea fields in the Sixties and Seventies, though investors know that such frontier exploration can be high risk.
Whatever the results this means booming business for the Falklands and all those support and logistics companies operating from the Islands for quite a few years to come. The Leif Eiricsson rig only costs over a million dollars per day to run, plus all the subsidiary services and goods to be provided.
And 2012 not only does it mark the anniversary of the Falklands conflict, it is also 160 years since the foundation of the Falkland Islands Holding Company which operates a range of businesses on the islands from stevedoring and insurance to shops, car showrooms and tourist boat trips.
Chairman David Hudd says it is a very exciting time for the company, the Islands and the Islanders and his company stands to be a winner whatever the outcome of drilling. It has a direct stake of nearly 6% in Falkland Oil and Gas but stands to benefit if a rival strikes it rich because of its key role in the local economy and what could turn out to be lucrative property and land holdings.
Founded in 1852 with a Royal Charter, FIH has undergone a number of changes of ownership and was floated on the junior Aim market in 1998, with a current stock market value of £26million.
The view of the company, which also owns the Portsmouth Harbour Ferry Company in England and London-based art transport and storage specialist MoMart, is that there is an 85% chance of commercial oil production.
Although the infrastructure has been much improved since the war, there are few hotels, no civilian air terminal and only limited flights.
If oil is discovered it would trigger huge demand for additional flights and accommodation, creating big opportunities for FIH to develop its own services and work alongside companies brought in for major projects.
The Falklands already attract more than 50.000 visitors a year eager to see the region’s amazing wildlife.
Hudd said: “This is looking to be something on the verge of being very exciting. It could be very, very big, running into billions of pounds.” But he cautioned: “It is not going to happen overnight. We are talking over a decade.”
FIH Chairman David Hudd, “a very exciting time for the company”
UPDATE 1-Falkland Oil raises 48.5 mln stg to fund drilling
* Says placing will fund drilling of preferred exploration wells
* Discussions with potential new partners continues
* Rig to arrive in 10 days, FOGL sees its first well spudding in May (Adds detail, background)
LONDON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Falkland Oil and Gas said it will be able to drill its preferred exploration wells in Britain's remote Falkland Islands after raising 48.5 million pounds ($74.3 million) through a placing.
The company is one of several British firms looking for oil off the South Atlantic islands as part of a closely-watched campaign that is due to ramp up later in January when a rig arrives to explore waters south of the territory.
FOGL said on Friday the proceeds from the issue of new shares will be used to fund the drilling of a deeper first well targeting numerous reservoirs, as well as a second well, allowing it to overcome financial constraints which could have limited it to one well.
Discussions with potential new partners continue, said the company, adding that it undertook the placing as it does not expect to receive a suitable offer to help with financing within the drilling timetable.
The rig is slated to drill two wells for Borders & Southern when it arrives in ten days, FOGL said, forecasting a May start date for its first well.
The Falkland Islands is set to be transformed into an oil producing region after Rockhopper, a third British firm, made a discovery to the north of the islands in 2010.
The prospect of the British-governed province becoming an oil producer, however, is controversial, with Argentina claiming sovereignty to the islands that lie around 300 miles from its coast.
Shares in FOGL, which placed the new shares at 43 pence, closed at 50.5 pence on Thursday, valuing the firm at 104.7 million pounds. ($1 = 0.6528 British pounds) (Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Matt Scuffham
Falkland Oil and Gas raises £48.5 mln ahead of pivotal drill programme
7:54 am by Jamie Ashcroft FOGL expects the Leiv Eiriksson deepwater drilling rig will arrive in the Falklands in the next 10 days Falkland Oil and Gas (LON:FOGL) told investors that it will raise £48.5 million through a share placing.
The funding means that FOGL will be able to carry out its preferred drilling programme in the Falklands.
It will now be able to drill its first well, which will target the Loligo prospect, deeper to test additional targets and with the second well it will be able to target the Scotia prospect.
The previous plan was to drill a shallower well at Loligo and drill either the Nimrod or Vinson prospects with the second well, but the additional funds mean that FOGL has the financial flexibility to test its preferred choice, the Scotia prospect. This is a mid cretaceous fan prospect that’s estimated to contain 1 billion barrels of oil.
"We are delighted by this show of support from new and existing shareholders,” said chief executive Tim Bushell.
“The additional funds will significantly increase our flexibility over the forthcoming drilling programme expected to start in early May with the drilling of Loligo.”
The firm had been looking at possible options to sell some of its stake in its exploration assets but FOGL said it doesn’t expect to receive a suitable offer within the necessary timeframe.
FOGL will issue around 112 million new shares, about 50 per cent of its share capital prior to the funding, to new and existing investors in the company. The placing price of 43p represents a 14 per cent discount to yesterday’s closing price.
While the terms of the placing are quite dilutive the money does significantly enhance the drill programme.
The Loligo well will now be able to test three deeper reservoir targets which, according to FOGL, contain about 54 per cent of the prospect’s total resource potential. These are independent reservoir objectives – Trigg, Trigg Deep and Three Bears.
In total the entire Loligo prospect has been assessed to have a prospective resource of 4.7 billion barrels, FOGL said.
There is now greater flexibility for the company as it finalises its strategy for its second well.
The company says that while Scotia is the preferred choice for the second well, drilling results in the meantime may lead to a further change in plan, in which it would appraise Loligo further. Alternatively it could still decide to test the Nimrod, Vinson or indeed another prospect.
The Leiv Eiriksson deepwater drilling rig is expected to arrive in the Falklands during the next 10 days, FOGL said. It is first contracted to fellow explorer Borders and Southern (LON:BORS) for a two well programme, testing the Darwin and Stebbing prospects – estimated at 0.76 and 1.3 billion barrels of oil respectively.
FOGL says it may consider using its second drilling slot to test a prospect called Inflexible should Borders’ Darwin well prove successful
Falkland Oil & Gas raises £48.5m to drill deeper
Falkland Oil and Gas (FOGL) said it would be able to drill deeper wells when it begins exploring off the Falkland Islands in May, after announcing it would raise £48.5m through a share placing.
FOGL played down the risk of its drilling campaign being interrupted by tensions between Britain and Argentina over the sovereignty of the Falklands. Photo: PA
By Emily Gosden
6:15PM GMT 13 Jan 2012
Comment
The AIM-listed explorer said it could now afford to pursue its preferred drilling programme, including drilling deeper at the Loligo prospect, to target reservoirs that could contain up to 4.7bn barrels of oil or gas, more than double what it could have reached with a shallower well.
Tim Bushell, FOGL chief executive, said the company was in "fairly advanced discussions" with a number of independent European and North American companies over a potential partnership.
However he said FOGL had opted for a placing as a deal was unlikely to be concluded in time to guarantee funds for the preferred drilling programme, which includes a second well, to be drilled at the Scotia prospect.
FOGL said it intended "to progress the on-going farm-out discussions with various interested parties".
The Leiv Eiriksson rig is currently on route to the Falklands from Greenland and is expected to arrive at the islands in around ten days' time.
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Borders & Southern, with which FOGL is undertaking a combined drilling programme, will use the rig first. FOGL will have the third and fourth drilling slots.
Mr Bushell played down the risk of the drilling campaign being interrupted by geopolitical tensions between Britain and Argentina over the sovereignty of the Falklands. He said: "The risk is minimal. We don't need Argentina to operate."
FOGL said it had conditionally placed 112,764,675 new shares at 43p a share with new and existing shareholders. The existing shares fell 5½ to 45p.
Britain’s Oil Grab in Falkland Islands Seen Tripling U.K. Reserves: Energy
By Brian Swint - Jan 19, 2012 7:01 AM GMT+0700 .
Thirty years after Margaret Thatcher fought a 74-day war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands, the prospect of an oil boom is reviving tensions.
Oil explorers are targeting 8.3 billion barrels in the waters around the islands this year, three times the U.K.’s reserves. Borders & Southern Plc will drill the Stebbing prospect next month, one of three Falkland wells that Morgan Stanley ranks among the world’s top 15 offshore prospects this year. Meanwhile, Rockhopper Exploration Plc (RKH) is seeking $2 billion from a larger oil company to develop the Sea Lion field, the islands’ first economically viable oil find.
“The area is underexplored and highly prospective,” said New York-based Morgan Stanley analyst Evan Calio. “These could be like the high-impact wells in Ghana and Brazil a few years ago that opened up a whole host of basins.”
A major drilling success will further raise the political temperature as Argentina maintains its claim over the U.K’s South Atlantic territory, 300 miles (483 kilometers) from the Latin American coast. President Cristina Kirchner said Britain is taking her country’s resources, while Thatcher’s successor David Cameron yesterday accused Argentina of a “colonial” attitude that didn’t account for islanders’ rights.
The world’s largest oil companies like Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc face a dilemma: whether the potential of a virgin basin outweigh the risk of a worsening international dispute. While producers with interests in Argentina, such as BP Plc, may be put off, others will want to participate, said Tim Bushell, chief executive officer of Falkland Oil & Gas Plc, who’s looking for drilling partners.
‘Sabre Rattling’
“Big oil companies are used to dealing with political risk, and bigger ones than some sabre rattling by Argentina,” Bushell said in a telephone interview, who decline to name the companies he’s talking to. “For every BP, there are other major companies that don’t have an interest in Argentina.”
The Falkland Island government, which manages the territory’s mineral rights for the 2,955 islanders, says the big producers are interested and talking to the companies already active in the region. Of the five U.K.-based explorers that have drilled or plan wells, the largest, Rockhopper, has a market value of 899 million pounds ($1.4 billion).
“The Falklands is at a stage where a big company can take a large share in what could be a big oil province,” said Stephen Luxton, the Falkland Islands’ director of mineral resources. “There is an active program of marketing by the companies here. There are discussions going on, though we can’t name names.”
Patagonian Squid
Falkland Oil & Gas plans to drill the Loligo prospect later this year, a well targeting 4.7 billion barrels of oil. Named after a Patagonian squid, it’s the second-most prospective well planned worldwide this year after one in Namibia, according to Morgan Stanley. The company’s Darwin prospect will follow and ranks sixth on the U.S. bank’s list.
Borders & Southern will start drilling the Darwin prospect by the end of January, which seismic surveys suggest may hold as much as 760 million barrels of oil and 3 trillion cubic feet of gas. Stebbing, the target of the company’s second well, may hold as much as 1.2 billion barrels.
Together, the four wells planned for the Falklands this year are searching for about 8.3 billion barrels of oil. The Jubilee field, which was discovered in 2007 and propelled Ghana into one of the world’s top 50 oil states, holds 370 million barrels of reserves. Brazil’s Lula field
http://www.citywire.co.uk/money/...utm_campaign=BulkEmail_Money_Daily
Falkland Oil and Gas (LON:FOGL) also emerged among the most actively discussed companies on bulletin boards. Investors were focused on the upcoming drilling campaign by fellow Falklands operating firm Borders & Southern (LON:BOR), which will target the Darwin prospect.
Darwin is similar to several prospects owned by FOGL including Inflexible and Thulla. Should the first well targeting Darwin be a success, it will significantly de-risk FOGL’s prospects ahead of its drilling programme, which will kick off once the Leiv Eiriksson rig is released by Borders & Southern
Falklands Department of Mineral Resources Report 26/01/12
January 27, 2012
by Stephen Luxton (FIG)
Falklands Department of Mineral Resources Report for November 2011 to January 2012
By Stephen Luxton (FIG)
Following is a report on the wide range of activities at the Mineral Resources Department from November 2011 to January 2012. This report is by Stephen Luxton, the first in his new role as Director of Mineral Resources.
Completion of Ocean Guardian drilling campaign
Since the last meeting held in November 2011, the extensive drilling campaign being undertaken by the Ocean Guardian drilling rig has been completed. The rig left in mid January and is currently being towed back to the UK for routine maintenance prior to taking on its next contract later in 2012.
The campaign was extremely successful both technically and logistically with several oil and gas discoveries, and all who were involved with it both within the industry and within the local business community are to be congratulated on a safe and successful campaign. In almost two years of drilling, there was no time lost due to logistical challenges associated with working in the Falklands and proves beyond doubt that extended oil industry operations in the Falklands are perfectly feasible.
Operators have commented that the Falklands has been an excellent place for the industry to work with a very commendable can-do attitude within the local business community and it is considered that the working relationship between operators and the Government as regulator have been excellent.
Commencement of the Leiv Eiriksson drilling campaign
The Leiv Eiriksson drilling rig arrived in Berkeley Sound on 21 January 2012 ready to begin its four-well campaign in the South and East Falkland Basins which is anticipated to last approximately six months.
Leiv Eiriksson is a self-propelled dynamically-positioned 5th generation harsh environment semi-submersible rig which has mobilised to the Falklands under its own power and will be supported in its drilling operations by three vessels, platform supply vessels Toisa Sonata and Toisa Intrepid, and a dedicated emergency response vessel Ocean Prince, all of which arrived in Stanley a few days before the rig.
The rig will spend several days loading heavy equipment from its supply vessels in Berkeley Sound before mobilising to drill the first Borders & Southern Petroleum prospect Darwin East, and it will then drill a second well for Borders & Southern Petroleum on their Stebbing prospect before moving north to drill two wells for Falkland Oil & Gas Ltd in their license areas.
NAPE convention
FIG plans to attend the NAPE convention in Houston in February 2012 which will be the next significant marketing event. Interest in Falklands exploration opportunities is expected to be strong at this event which will be attended by...............
- The discovery of oil is expected to boost the islanders' wealth by £20bn
- Increasing fears of invasion from the Argentines
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2092942/...es-Armageddon.html
http://en.mercopress.com/2012/01/27/...loration-was-hugely-successful
http://www.n-tv.de/politik/...ntsenden-Zerstoerer-article5377426.html
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