Europa Update on New Offshore Ireland Licensing Options

Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc, the AIM listed oil and gas exploration, development and production company focused on Europe provides detailed technical information on the recently awarded Licensing Option (‘LO’) 16/22. Europa has a 100% interest in, and is operator of, seven licences in the Atlantic basins offshore Ireland including LO 16/22, which covers 992km2 in the Padraig Basin.
 
Highlights
 
  * Gross mean un-risked indicative resources in the range of 300-600 million barrels of oil equivalent

  * Padraig Basin is a remnant Jurassic basin on the eastern margin of the Rockall Trough

  * Most relevant analogue is the conjugate margin play offshore Newfoundland in the Flemish Pass Basin

  * Good quality 1998 2-D seismic suggests structures of significant size

  * Multiple leads mapped in water depths ranging from 800-2,000m in both Pre-rift and Syn-rift hydrocarbon plays

  * Strategy to expedite exploration by securing a farm-in partner with which to reprocess historic 2-D seismic over LO 16/22 and to mature leads to drillable prospect status
 
Europa CEO Hugh Mackay said, “Following Statoil’s exploration success at the play-opening Bay du Nord oil discovery in the Flemish Pass basin offshore Newfoundland there is considerable industry interest in Flemish Pass analogues being found offshore west Ireland.  Whilst most of the industry is currently focused on exploring for this play in the South Porcupine basin our restoration of the conjugate margin prior to Atlantic seafloor spreading suggests the possibility that the Padraig basin may be a better fit with the Flemish Pass basin. 
 
“The potential of the Flemish Pass play in Ireland is currently being pioneered in the South Porcupine basin by the oil majors.  If they achieve exploration success we expect there will be clear technical read across to, and potentially de-risking of, our Padraig licence and in due course this might encourage a second phase of drilling in the perched basins on the Rockall margin.  Whilst the Padraig Basin play is currently at an early exploration stage and at the higher risk end of the exploration spectrum, we have a work programme to de-risk this evolving play.In particular we are hopeful that successful reprocessing of historic 2-D seismic might allow us to mature existing leads to drillable prospect status at comparatively low cost and without the necessity to acquire new seismic data.”