MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands' offshore survey to increase oil “drillable targets”

Rockhopper Exploration plc begins this Saturday (October 21) a 65-day, 3D Seismic Survey, in the South Atlantic North Falklands Basin with the purpose of increasing its “drillable targets” in the area.

The 3D seismic survey will be undertaken in an east-west direction by the survey vessel "CGG Laurentian" that will be towing 6 x 6000 meters long seismic streamers with a total deployment width of 600 meters.

Earlier in the year Rockhopper Exploration announced that data from Controlled Source Electromagnetic Surveys (CSEM) carried out by Offshore Hydrocarbon Mapping plc, when superimposed with acquired 2D seismic data, provided greater clarity of the structures surveyed and significantly de-risked the acreage.

"We now have a highly de-risked drillable prospect and a number of encouraging leads" reported the company at the time adding that the drillable prospect named Ernest, "if successful could contain over 100 million barrels of recoverable oil".

Prospect Ernest was described by Rockhopper Exploration as a relatively low risk independent 4-way dip closed structure in 160m of water only 100km from the Islands.

"Combining all the data and using fairly conservative assumptions leads us to believe that Ernest, as mapped to the less risky four way closure, could contain approximately 312 million barrels of oil, of which approximately 100 million could be recoverable".

The Expected Monetary Value of prospect Ernest, given the reduction in risk combined with a higher oil price environment has increased prospects of success and with an estimated 100 million barrel recoverable field at an oil price of 50 US dollars per barrel, is in the range of a billion US dollars, and should oil price fall to 30 US dollars, in the range of 323 million US dollars.

The 3D program which according to Rockhopper Exploration is advanced by an estimated two months "will accelerate our program and could lead us to have a number of additional targets by the middle of 2007"

At that point, "we will be ready to join any drilling program in the Falkland Islands subject to funding".

The dark blue hull and white superstructure "CGG Laurentian" has a dark blue painted hull and a white superstructure and will be accompanied throughout the survey period by the Chase Vessel "Brodospas Ibis" with a green painted hull and a white superstructure.

Vessels operating in the area are requested not to pass within 10 kilometers astern of the "CGG Laurentian", or within a 3 kilometer corridor along either side of the width.