Exploration firm EnCore Oil has announced that its Catcher prospect, off the east coast of Scotland, may hold up to 300 million barrels of oil—about 150 million of which is extractable.
EnCore is the operator of the Catcher joint venture and holds a 15 per cent stake. Premier Oil holds 35 per cent; Wintershall (UK North Sea) holds 20 per cent; Nautical Petroleum has 15 per cent; and Agora Oil & Gas holds a 15 per cent stake.
Catcher is now among the largest discoveries since the billion barrel Buzzard reservoir was discovered off Aberdeen in 2001. Buzzard currently produces more than 10 per cent of the UK's total oil production.
Further drilling on another two to three wells on nearby geological structures will now determine whether the discoveries are part of a single petroleum system that could hold up to 800 million barrels.
Alan Booth, EnCore's Chief Executive Officer, commented: “Initial analysis of the seismic data, now calibrated by drilling, suggests that block 28/9 could possibly contain a series of discoveries that would form one of the larger North Sea oil accumulations of recent years.”
He continued: “In addition, the surrounding prospects in the block, which have yet to be appraised, could add very significantly to this number. The Catcher drilling programme has to date delivered a truly exceptional result, and I would like to thank both our own staff and those of our co-venturers for their commitment to wildcat exploration in the UKCS.”
The discovery will undoubtedly boost interest in North Sea exploration at a time when global exploration is focusing on other areas, such as West Africa, Brazil and Australia. Production in the North Sea has fallen from its peak in 1999, with several recent auctions of oil fields seeing disappointing levels of interest.
Shares in EnCore have more than doubled this month, after an initial well on Catcher found a 100 million barrel reservoir.
Headquartered in London, EnCore holds a portfolio of interests in licences, including interests in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) offshore, several of which include operatorship; UK onshore in the Cleveland, Humber, Weald and Wessex basins; offshore Ireland; and offshore in the Western Sahara.
