MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands drilling will resume in second quarter of 2015, announced Premier Oil

“A rig contract and an associated rig sharing agreement is expected to be signed shortly”, announced Premier.

Exploration drilling in the waters off the Falkland Islands will resume in the second quarter of next year, according to Premier Oil. Negotiations are currently underway with rig contractors and joint venture partners, the company said in its interim management statement which was approved as the annual general meeting.

 According to the statement Premier shortly expects to sign a rig contract and a rig sharing agreement with fellow Falkland explorers.

Premier plans to drill four wells within its acreage as part of a broader drilling campaign, which is scheduled to get underway in the second quarter. Meanwhile, work continues on the planning for the Sea Lion field, the commercial find of the last Falklands' drill campaign.

In the Falkland Islands, “negotiations are ongoing with rig companies, joint venture partners and other operators to pave the way for the 2015 exploration campaign. A rig contract and an associated rig sharing agreement is expected to be signed shortly”.

The campaign is planned to commence in Q2 2015 and is expected to comprise four operated wells on Premier acreage; three on PL004 and one on PL032.

Pre-development activities on the Sea Lion project continue to progress. The conceptual design of the TLP has been further defined and a detailed geophysical survey of the TLP/FSO location has been acquired. Tender packages for the FEED contracts were issued and proposals from engineering companies have been received. These are under evaluation with the intention to award FEED contracts in Q2. Finally “we target project sanction for Q2 2015”.