MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

FIG Notes Final Investment Decisions for Sea Lion Development Program

“The sanctioning of Sea Lion is a major milestone for Rockhopper and all its stakeholders and represents the culmination of over 20 years of work,” said CEO Sam Moody.

The Falkland Islands Government notes that Navitas Petroleum Development and Production Ltd and Rockhopper Exploration Plc have taken their Final Investment Decisions to invest in the Development Program for the Northern Area of the Sea Lion Field.

 A number of reports were considered and approved by Falklands’ Executive Council during October 2025 in relation to offshore minerals, and associated issues.

The reports covered a range of matters including clarification of tax treatment for various project costs, establishing the key principles for petroleum valuation methodology, provision of security for investors involved with Project Sea Lion and matters relating to access to land required to support Project Sea Lion.

Executive Council also approved the development and production program, under the model clauses of the extant production licenses, for phases 1 and 2 of the Northern Development Area of the Sea Lion Field.

The condition precedent set out by Executive Council has now been met and therefore the approvals previously made have gone live.

.FIG’s notice follows on Rockhopper Exploration and Navitas Petroleum announcement of a final investment decision (FID) on Phase 1 of the Sea Lion oil development, and both boards approved financing arrangements for the first phase of development.

Rockhopper said the post-FID funding requirement totals US$1.8 billion to first oil and US$ 2.1 billion to project completion, including contingencies and financing costs. The project financing package includes US$ 1.0 billion of senior debt, of which US$ 350 million is attributable to Rockhopper, with the remaining capital provided through joint-venture equity and post-first-oil cash flows.

An independent resource report by Netherland, Sewell & Associates in June 2025 estimated full-field 2C resources of 917 million barrels. Phase 1 of Sea Lion is expected to target 170 million barrels with peak production of around 50,000 barrels per day and first oil planned for 2028. Phase 2 is expected to recover a further 149 million barrels. Navitas has signed key commercial contracts including an FPSO charter and associated EPC and O&M agreements, a drilling rig contract, a framework agreement for drilling and completion services, and a SURF engineering, procurement and installation contract.

As part of the FID process, Rockhopper and the Falkland Islands Government agreed a final settlement of previously disclosed tax disputes relating to farm-outs in 2012 and 2022. “The sanctioning of Sea Lion is a major milestone for Rockhopper and all its stakeholders and represents the culmination of over 20 years of work,” said Chief Executive Sam Moody.

“When we first discovered Sea Lion in 2010, it was a hugely exciting play-opening well, and the vast amount of work undertaken since then, first in the ensuing drilling campaigns and then the many years of engineering and commercial refinement, is now moving towards its ultimate fruition as we move into the development phase,” Moody added.

Israel’s Navitas holds a 65% interest in the project, with Rockhopper Exploration holding the remaining 35%.