Rockhopper Exploration has announced further significant oil finds in the North Falkland Basin in the South Atlantic.
The company has encountered more oil during drilling of a fifth well to a total depth of 2,696 metres within its Sea Lion prospect.
Rockhopper is the operator of four production licences in which it holds a 100 per cent interest in the North Falkland Basin, between them covering an area of approximately 3,800 square kilometres. The company has predicted that it will cost around £1.3 million to develop offshore petroleum production, based on an estimated 350 million barrels of recoverable oil.
Rockhopper hopes to complete its concept engineering studies in the first quarter of 2012 and its front-end engineering design by the first quarter of 2013, by which time it also hopes to have awarded contracts to the FPSO provider and subsea contractor.
The company hopes to achieve first oil in early 2016, reaching a maximum production of 120,000 barrels per day by 2018.
CEO Sam Moody commented:“This is another excellent result with full credit going to our subsurface team for delivering Rockhopper’s fifth successful well. We will shortly move to our next well which will target not only the SLMC but also Casper and Kermit prospects.”
Salisbury, UK-based Rockhopper drilled its first exploration well on the Sea Lion prospect during April and May 2010, the result of which was the first oil discovery and contingent oil resource in the North Falkland Basin.
