The week saw the results of the UK’s 27th North Sea licensing round by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) focusing investors eyes on the region.
A total of 167 licences were awarded in the record breaking bidding round which proved to be the most competitive to date.
Awards were made to several major international oil companies including BG (LON:BG.), Centrica (LON:CNA), Shell (LON:RDSB) and Canada’s Talisman Energy.
Meanwhile, a number of large North Sea firms like EnQuest (LON:ENQ) and Premier Oil (LON:PMO) were also given licences, according to the DECC.
AIM quoted firms were also offered licences - Trap Oil (LON:TRAP), Faroe Petroleum (LON:FPM), Xcite Energy (LON:XEL), Ithaca (LON:IAE), Valiant Petroleum (LON:VPP) and Parkmead (LON:PMG).
ENEGI Oil (LON:ENEG) also confirmed it had secured acreage in the North Sea to advance its potentially game changing buoy technology.
It was offered two licences.
On Thursday, Tom Reynolds, chief executive of Bridge Energy (LON:BRDG) said he was "delighted" with the firm's two new awards.
And a day later, the firm revealed a significant oil discovery in the Norwegian North Sea.
The Garantiana Well, on PL554, flowed at an initial 4,000 barrels a day from the Cook Formation, which is described as having “good reservoir characteristics”.
Total, the operator, is yet to find the oil water contact.
And earlier in the week, Bridge and Antrim (LON:AEY) announced news of a new discovery, in the Contender exploration well.
Antrim owns an 8.4% stake in the project, while newly listed Bridge has a 4% interest.
Also in the news last week, Falklands Oil & Gas’ (LON:FOGL) revealed that drilling has been delayed because of malfunctioning equipment related to a blow out preventer.
The company had been drilling the Scotia well – its second and final well of the programme – for about a month, and it said that it was slightly ahead of schedule prior to the delay.
Meanwhile, at Fastnet Oil & Gas (LON:FAST), it has taken a step closer to de-risking its potentially exciting assets in the Mizzen basin in the Celtic Sea by hiring leading services firm WesternGeco Seismic, part of Schlumberger, to re-process existing 2D seismic data as well as carrying out other technical geophysical work.
The firm believes the Mizzen basin, near the high profile Barryroe field, could host more than 2 billion barrels of oil.
From operations to money, Sound Oil (LON:SOU) told investors this week it has secured half its share of the funding required to drill the upcoming Nervesa appraisal well in Italy.
A deal with an Italian engineering group, called CSTI, will provide an initial €1.5 million paid in three equal tranches as the drill programme progresses.
Elsewhere, Dragon Oil (LON:DGO) told investors it will achieve production growth of around 10% this year.
The firm said it produced an average of 69,600 barrels of oil per day during the third quarter at its operations in the Caspian Sea following work to overcome ‘sanding’ problems which restricted production in a number of wells earlier this year.
http://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/market_reports/49610/oil-gas-news-summary-including-bridge-energy-fastnet-oil-gas-sound-oil-and-dragon-oil--0000.html
A total of 167 licences were awarded in the record breaking bidding round which proved to be the most competitive to date.
Awards were made to several major international oil companies including BG (LON:BG.), Centrica (LON:CNA), Shell (LON:RDSB) and Canada’s Talisman Energy.
Meanwhile, a number of large North Sea firms like EnQuest (LON:ENQ) and Premier Oil (LON:PMO) were also given licences, according to the DECC.
AIM quoted firms were also offered licences - Trap Oil (LON:TRAP), Faroe Petroleum (LON:FPM), Xcite Energy (LON:XEL), Ithaca (LON:IAE), Valiant Petroleum (LON:VPP) and Parkmead (LON:PMG).
ENEGI Oil (LON:ENEG) also confirmed it had secured acreage in the North Sea to advance its potentially game changing buoy technology.
It was offered two licences.
On Thursday, Tom Reynolds, chief executive of Bridge Energy (LON:BRDG) said he was "delighted" with the firm's two new awards.
And a day later, the firm revealed a significant oil discovery in the Norwegian North Sea.
The Garantiana Well, on PL554, flowed at an initial 4,000 barrels a day from the Cook Formation, which is described as having “good reservoir characteristics”.
Total, the operator, is yet to find the oil water contact.
And earlier in the week, Bridge and Antrim (LON:AEY) announced news of a new discovery, in the Contender exploration well.
Antrim owns an 8.4% stake in the project, while newly listed Bridge has a 4% interest.
Also in the news last week, Falklands Oil & Gas’ (LON:FOGL) revealed that drilling has been delayed because of malfunctioning equipment related to a blow out preventer.
The company had been drilling the Scotia well – its second and final well of the programme – for about a month, and it said that it was slightly ahead of schedule prior to the delay.
Meanwhile, at Fastnet Oil & Gas (LON:FAST), it has taken a step closer to de-risking its potentially exciting assets in the Mizzen basin in the Celtic Sea by hiring leading services firm WesternGeco Seismic, part of Schlumberger, to re-process existing 2D seismic data as well as carrying out other technical geophysical work.
The firm believes the Mizzen basin, near the high profile Barryroe field, could host more than 2 billion barrels of oil.
From operations to money, Sound Oil (LON:SOU) told investors this week it has secured half its share of the funding required to drill the upcoming Nervesa appraisal well in Italy.
A deal with an Italian engineering group, called CSTI, will provide an initial €1.5 million paid in three equal tranches as the drill programme progresses.
Elsewhere, Dragon Oil (LON:DGO) told investors it will achieve production growth of around 10% this year.
The firm said it produced an average of 69,600 barrels of oil per day during the third quarter at its operations in the Caspian Sea following work to overcome ‘sanding’ problems which restricted production in a number of wells earlier this year.
http://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/market_reports/49610/oil-gas-news-summary-including-bridge-energy-fastnet-oil-gas-sound-oil-and-dragon-oil--0000.html