Falklands’ oilfield development, Rockhopper Exploration next move
Rockhopper Exploration announced Thursday in its interim results statement that the Falkland Islands drilling campaign has been very successful as it has established the Sea Lion discovery as a world-class asset.
The appraisal and exploration drilling is now coming to an end, with the final well currently in progress. Subsequently Rockhopper is focusing on engineering and financing as it moves towards a final investment decision for a future oilfield development in Falklands waters.
This could involve bringing in a new partner Rockhopper said in the interim results statement adding it has prepared a data room for potential industry partners and debt providers to assess the successful Sea Lion discovery.
“We continue in the rare position of holding 100% of what we are proving up to be a world-class asset, which makes a range of options available to us,” said Chairman Dr Pierre Jungels.
“Having established that the field is commercial and that it will be developed, we will now look to proving how, and potentially with whom, best to achieve such a development.”
Rockhopper said that following the recent appraisal drilling it will revise its oil-in-place estimates for Sea Lion, which currently stand at 1.2 billion barrels in the mid-case scenario. It subsequently plans to complete a new competent persons report by the end of March.
Recent studies suggest Sea Lion will likely to be produced via 18 production wells spread across three drill centres, giving a plateau rate of 80-90.000 b/d. Any production from the adjacent Casper discovery, the various B sands and any future finds in the area could further lift the production rate.
Meanwhile it said that its engineering work is proceeding to plan. It expects concept screening and concept engineering to be completed by year end. This will provide the firm with a sound basis to start the pre-selection of front-end engineering and design early next year, it said.
Furthermore it said that it has made a promising start to the financing process. According to Rockhopper it has been well received by all of the lending banks it has held introductory conversations with.
The company must complete its oil-in-place estimates and come up with detailed development costs and a timetable for first oil before it can progress to the next stage of financing talks, it said.
“For this piece to progress to the next stage we need to conclude on our volumes in place and then work up the detailed development costs and timings expected to get to first oil”, said Rockhopper chief executive Sam Moody.
“The group continues to look at a variety of means of financing the Sea Lion development including lending banks and potential industry partners. Costs for the development will depend on decisions such as whether a purchased or leased FPSO is used or whether the field development is by a full field or phased approach.”
He added: “The group has sufficient funds to get comfortably to a final investment decision in relation to the Sea Lion field.
“Inevitably as drilling activity draws to a conclusion and the main focus of the group will shift from the field appraisal to the engineering, regulatory and financing aspects of the field development.”
Rockhopper Exploration mentioned among its operational and financial highlights: well 14/10-5 successfully flow tested; 14/10-6 successfully appraised and 14/10-7 successfully appraised, plus 131 million dollars resources available at 30 September.
Furthermore, 14/10-8 declared a dry hole; 14/10-9 declared a successful appraisal and Casper declared an oil & gas discovery with 188 million dollars resources available at 31 October 2011.
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What about the blockedand the CELAC, you think that it is not a problem
Long Live the Falklands
Will the british and spanish navies start patroling those waters to exscort such vessels to protect their right to innocent passage from illegal argentina bloackade and boarding of such vessels? More than likely, yes.
Will Argentine navy have the guts to take on a british or spanish navy vessel escorting vessels partaking in innocent passage? Nope, because they wouldn't stand a chance in hell against either a british or spanish navy vessel.
@13
This is the sort of person sadly lacking in argentina He is interested in building argentina into the kind of country it should be and not wasting time and resources on a foreign land (Falklands).
when it starts flowing, it will know the grin of argies chin,
brag brag brag .
Good for you, Rob the Argentine.
Hope you make some money, xbarilox. As you see, moderate capitalism is the way to go.
tell as the difference between chimichurri and salsa criolla
and mention at least 6 names of “facturas” and the price
lets see...its very easy
tomorrow assumes our presi, 2nd period
Long Live the Falklands.
We had, what she always wanted,
Now she wants, what is basically very much out of fashion
[Her very own little empire]
.
and watch www.diarioshow.com/2011/12/09/74516-un-soldado-ingles-le-devuelve-la-camara-de-fotos-a-uno-argentino.html late, but at leasts is sth
They don't even care about their grandchildren if we think they'll have to live in the same planet.
How long? Humans already have technology to live on ecological resources, they could be cheaper for people and not contaminating.
Can't the UK at least colonize using healthier ways? Maybe these british people living in the falklands could take care of the land they are usurping.
“Maybe these british people living in the falklands could take care of the land they are usurping.” They are, as i don't see any argentinian doing so except the 2-3 that live or work their. But hey argentina did a good job of looking after the land in 1982 planting all those land mines that have yet to be harvested.
As for the oil industry in the falklands. stop playing the innocent victims and stop being hypocrites. Argentinas own oil industry is not that innocent either, if you want the falklands to stop extracting its own natural resources such as oil then you, argentina, should also stop too. Ohh and i bet you conveniently forgot about these argentinian oil spills:
www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jan2008/2008-01-02-03.html
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7437110.stm
www.nytimes.com/1989/02/07/world/us-and-argentina-beginning-cleanup-of-antarctic-oil-spill.html
Shall i go on? Clearly Argentina does not have the greatest safety record or thinks much about preventing such spills.
23 fermin
If Argentina are using a more environmentally friendly method to explore for oil in their waters, perhaps they will share it with us, for the sake of the environment.
How's that :-)
I am critic of Argentina of course, but the UK owns larger resources and the power to work on them, well, not the british people, just a few little group of them. And this makes the, LAZY, also in company of other groups around the world.
Oil is not ok, no matter it is produced in Argentina, the Falklands or wherever.
The most “advanced” nations seem to be the lazy ones sometimes.
And yes, we are victims of a lot of things, even then we still try to solve our problems with diplomacy and according to the not-always-fair international institutions.
We are not the ones pointing at the rest of the world with war weapons “in the name of freedom and safety”.
Long Live the Falklands.
its nice to see you support the project.
That might well happen and sooner than you think. There already is protection up to the 3- mile limit.
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