Cairn Energy set to start drilling for oil along the Atlantic margin

Edinburgh-headquartered oil and gas exploration and development group Cairn Energy is set to start a year-long exploration drilling programme to search for oil along the Atlantic margin.

In a recent updated, the company said operations will “commence shortly” on the first well offshore Morocco.

The full planned operated exploration and appraisal and potential high impact drilling programme will target 4 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) of mean un-risked gross prospective resource within a total “Yet to Find” potential in excess of 10 billion boe.

The company’s frontier exploration programme remains focused on the Atlantic Margin: including Morocco, Senegal, Mauritania, West of Ireland and Greenland with a series of high-impact, exploration opportunities in the region over the next year. Cairn has two rigs contracted, the Cajun Express and Blackford Dolphin, which will drill a further four wells during the next year.

A number of potential follow up exploration prospects have also been mapped.

Multi-well high impact exploration programme

Chief Executive Simon Thomson commented: “Cairn has built a strategic position along the frontier basins of the Atlantic Margin, including Morocco, Senegal, Ireland, Mauritania and Greenland and is about to commence a 12 month multi-well high impact exploration programme offering shareholders exposure to material growth potential.

“Cairn continues to follow its policy of maintaining appropriate balance sheet strength as it progresses its exploration and development programmes.”

A decision on the group’s joint venture offshore Greenland is due before the end of next year, the firm added.

Cairn is focused on three geographic regions; Atlantic Margin, Mediterranean and UK & Norway and has assets in Greenland, Spain, Morocco, UK, Norway, Republic of Ireland, Senegal, Malta, Northern Ireland, France and Albania.

Edited from various sources by Cecilia Rehn

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