The junior oil and gas sector made a busy start to December.
() on Friday struck a farm-out deal for Project Peregrine in Alaska, which will fund the proposed Merlin-1 exploration well.
The partnership is with Alaska Peregrine Development Company (APDC), which is described by 88 Energy as ‘a consortium of private US entities managed by individuals that have extensive experience in oil and gas.’
It comes weeks after a A$10mln fundraise and tees up a potentially high impact well in 2021.
() flagged that an outstanding milestone payment attached to last year’s sale of the Crown asset is now expected in the second quarter of 2021.
Crown was sold to Anasuria Hibiscus, a subsidiary of Malaysian firm Hibiscus Petroleum Berhad, last December and, at that time, a US$3mln payment (US$2.85mln net to United) was anticipated before the end of 2020.
The payment is triggered by the approval of a field development plan for Marigold – a project that now includes Crown – and amidst the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic this milestone has slipped to 2021.
Earlier in the week, United highlighted the countdown to exciting new drilling in Egypt, at the expectation beating Abu Sennan project.
() (CVE:TXP) said the Ortoire exploration block in Trinidad continues to exceed expectations as it confirmed the completion of drilling at the Cascadura Deep-1 exploration well.
“The Cascadura Deep-1 well is the best well we have drilled on the Ortoire property to date,” said Paul Baay, Touchstone chief executive.
Baay told investors that, thanks to the Ortoire successes, Touchstone will now enter a new phase of rapid production growth along with a balanced portfolio of development and exploration opportunities.
Also in Trinidad this week, () has laid out the plans for its assets in Trinidad and Suriname, targeting a ramp-up that envisages US$35mln of revenue per year by the end of 2021.
Driven by a campaign comprising up to 17 new wells the company aims to take production up to at least 2,500 barrels of oil per day (bopd), versus a 2020 goal rate of 500 bopd.
Additionally, subject to permitting and rig availability, the company noted that it could further accelerate production growth with an expanded programme of 11 extra wells.
Zephyr Energy PLC () announced that Cyclone Drilling Inc had been hired for the ‘dual-use’ State 16-2 well which remains on-track to spud before the year’s end.
() raised £5.28mln in a share placing, the proceeds will be used to boost production at the West Rustavi field and recently acquired projects.
() on Wednesday announced that the first crude oil liftings have taken place from the Sarta field in Kurdistan. The company owns a 30% interest in the field which began producing in November.
Presently, the field is producing from one well – Sarta-3 – which is flowing more than 5,000 barrels of oil per day. The performance is in line with expectations.
On Tuesday, () has confirmed the formal award of six licences in the North Sea. The awards come in the UK’s 32nd offshore licensing round and were initially announced in September.
() has said it is closer to seeing the monetisation of its historic investments in the Barryroe project, offshore Ireland, as () and PLC () sealed a farm-out transaction.
The new farm-out deal with Norway’s SpotOn Energy – which is, in turn, teamed up with service providers Schlumberger, Aker Solutions, AGR, Maersk Drilling, Keppel FELS, Aibel – sets the project up for development. It comes after a prior transaction with a Chinese investor failed to close.
Westmount Energy Limited () on Tuesday became the first exploration and production company to be quoted on both AIM and the OTCQB Market after listing its shares in New York.
Eco Atlantic Oil & Gas Ltd (LON:ECO) told investors it has successfully negotiated the reissue of four licences in the Walvis Basin, offshore Namibia. The licences awards remain conditional subject to customary final government signature, the company added.
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