Independent oil and gas firm Faroe Petroleum yesterday heralded a new find in the Norwegian North Sea as it looked back on a year in which probable reserves grew by 32% due to its high-impact exploration campaign.
The Aberdeen-based indy’s Pil well – in which it holds a 25% share – has been estimated to hold around 135 metres of oil and 91 metres of gas, the firm said. Investors added £26million to the company’s value as its shares rose 11.4% on the news.
The Pil find is just 20 miles – well within tie back distance – from the Njord platform and is near the Snilehorn prospect, which the firm said could contain up to 100million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent when it made the discovery in November.
Yesterday Faroe chief executive Graham Stewart gave an update on the troubled Njord A floating platform which has been shut down since July for maintenance. It had to be evacuated in November due to stormy weather as structural problems emerged.
Faroe said the Njord A facility is expected to be brought to a yard for the hull to be either repaired or replaced in 2015. But he said production was on track to restart in summer once work to reinforce the deck structure of the Njord A facility is complete.
The company said it built a “significant and balanced portfolio” of assets last year. The company, which has said it plans to spend £110million on exploration and appraisal this year, said its drilling programme was funded by cash flow from production, cash reserves and “the Norwegian exploration tax incentive scheme”.
Mr Stewart said: “Our Norwegian position is the most significant of any UK independent E&P company, and it continues to add value and will provide exciting high-impact wells for many years to come.
“We now look forward to an exciting period ahead, with a programme of fully-funded high-impact exploration and appraisal wells planned, each with material equity stakes. Our sustainable exploration programme, combined with the opportunity to grow significantly our production portfolio, gives us the potential to generate very considerable value for shareholders.”