Oil & Gas News
Encore Oil (LON:EO.) PLC (EO/ LN, 77.5p, ? 0.75%) today announced an update on operations on the Tudor Rose well 14/30a-5 in Central North Sea block 14/30a. As previously announced, this well was expected to take 20 days. However, to date, some thirteen days have been lost due to bad weather and some minor operational delays. A further announcement will be made once the well has been completed. The licence group comprises EnCore Oil (40%, Operator), Endeavour Energy (20%), EnQuest (20%) and Nautical Petroleum (20%). Transocean?s semi-submersible drilling rig Sedco 704 spudded the well in Block 14/30a, which lies in the Outer Moray Firth adjacent to the Ivanhow, Rob Roy, Goldeneye and Tweedsmuir fields. The block contains three other prospects in addition to Tudor Rose including the Buffalo prospect within the Lower Cretaceous and Upper Jurassic intervals. Tudor Rose, which has potential resources of about 80 million barrels, was found in 1983 with a well hitting an 80-foot oil column, though no samples were taken. This latest well is being drilled 2.5 kilometres from the discovery well and aims to establish the crude?s gravity and viscosity at a depth of 3200 feet.
Northern Petroleum (LON:NOP) (NOP LN, 76.0p, ? 5.92%) today announced the sale of its interest in the Vinkega gas field for approximately EUR3.2 million. The Vinkega gas field was discovered when Vermilion Oil & Gas Netherlands B.V. ("Vermilion") drilled the Vinkega-1 well (spudded 16th November 2009) on its Gorredijk Licence. The field has been mapped as underlying both part of the Gorredijk Licence and part of the Drenthe III Licence, which is held by Northern Petroleum Nederland B.V. ("NPN"), a wholly owned subsidiary of NPN, Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij B.V. and Dyas B.V. All the Drenthe III Licence interest holders have agreed to the sale of their respective Drenthe III interests in the Vinkega field to Vermilion, with NPN's pro-rated share of the consideration being EUR3.1875 million. Seventy percent of the purchase price has already been paid on signing of the Sale and Purchase Agreement, with the remaining thirty percent being payable following completion, which is subject to the usual governmental and other consents.
Mining News
Mindoro Resources (BUY, C$0.39) (MIO CN, C$0.13, ? 8.1%) today announced the first drillhole result from the Archangel drilling programme, testing for feeding structures…
