MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Borders & Southern begins drilling its second well to the south of the Falklands

Oil rig Leiv Eiriksson currently drilling in the Stebbing prospect

Falkland Islands exploration company Borders & Southern (AIM: BOR) announced the spudding of its second well, 61/25-1, on 11 May 2012. The well is located 170 km south of the Falkland Islands.

Borders &Southern is the operator of the well, holding a 100% interest in licence PL018. It is the second of a two well exploration programme.

The well is designed to test the Stebbing prospect, a thrust cored anticline structure with an area of closure of 85 square kilometres. Objectives comprise Tertiary and Upper Cretaceous sandstone reservoirs.

The well duration is estimated to be 49 days. However, this is a wildcat exploration well and geological challenges might cause variation from this initial estimate. A further announcement will be made once the well has reached its total depth and the wire-line logs have been run and their interpretation completed.

With respect to the Darwin gas condensate discovery, fluid samples are being shipped back to the UK for detailed analysis. The results are anticipated in the third quarter of 2012 and will be announced as soon as the work has been completed.

The state of the art ocean rig Leiv Eiriksson spudded the first well of two for B&S on 31 January 2012. The well dubbed “Darwin East” is within the 100% company’s owned licence PL018.

Following the two well options for B&S the rig will then be taken on by Falkland Oil and Gas ltd (FOGL) for a further two well drilling program. FOGL have indicated that the first well to be drilled will be within the massive “Loligo” prospect.

Borders & Southern Petroleum plc is an oil & gas exploration company listed on the London Stock Exchange AIM (BOR). The Company is focused on frontier or emerging basins where there is potential to identify and commercialise high value prospects.

Its project in the Falkland Islands comprises five Production Licences (100% interest) in the South Falkland Basin covering an area of nearly 20,000 square kilometres. The Company has acquired 2,862 km of 2D seismic and 1,492 sq km of 3D seismic and drilled one exploration well.