Explora Petroleum farms into Norway’s PL544 License

July 06, 2012 | Licensing & Concessions, North Sea & Western Europe

Lundin_Petroleum_Exploration_Drilling_Offshore_Malaysia

Sweden’s Lundin Petroleum announced Friday that it is farming out part of its stake in the PL544 license in the Norwegian North Sea to Explora Petroleum.

Explora – a new Norwegian oil and gas company established in September 2011 – will acquired a 30-percent interest in PL544, subject to approval by the Norwegian authorities. Lundin, the operator of PL544, will retain a 40-percent interest.
Stavanger-based Explora was created to focus exclusively on exploration on the Norwegian continental shelf. According to the company, it aims to grow primarily through participation in licensing rounds and it successfully pre-qualified as a licensee on the NCS in late May.
Commenting on the farm-in agreement on Friday, Explora CEO John Pickard said in a statement:
“Explora Petroleum’s strategy is to access attractive exploration opportunities on the Norwegian Continental Shelf through farm-in deals and licence rounds. This first licence deal is an important milestone in the development of the company’s portfolio. We are pleased to be partnering with Lundin, a company with a strong technical approach, and a track record of recent exploration success. The PL544 well planned for 2013 will be in a prolific part of the North Sea, adjacent to existing Sleipner infrastructure, and close to the significant discoveries in the Johan Sverdrup area.”
In early May, Lundin Norway successfully drilled two appraisal wells on the Johan Sverdrup field that confirmed “good to very good reservoir quality”. The firm is the operator, with a 40-percent interest, of production license 501, which covers the Johan Sverdrup area.