The Board of Mediterranean Oil & Gas Plc announces that, following the grant of approval by the Government of Malta, it has acquired through its wholly owned subsidiary Melita Exploration Company Limited (“Melita”), a 40% working interest in the Exploration Study Agreement (“ESA”) relating to offshore Malta Area 3 – Blocks 1, 2 and 3, alongside Capricorn Malta Ltd (W.I. 60%, Operator), a subsidiary of Cairn Energy PLC (“Cairn”).
In December 2012 Cairn entered into a two-year ESA with the Government of Malta for Blocks 1, 2 and 3 of Area 3, which are located north of Malta in the Sicily Channel covering an area of approximately 6,400 km2 and containing a number of prospective leads.
The ESA covers an initial two year period with geological studies, the reprocessing of existing 2D seismic data, the acquisition of new 2D seismic data and limited capital works. The ESA provides the right to negotiate a production sharing contract and it can be extended to a third year to acquire 3D seismic.
Dr. Bill Higgs, Chief Executive of Mediterranean Oil and Gas , commented:
“We are very pleased to have completed this transaction with Cairn. This enables us to expand our footprint offshore Malta ahead of our exploration drilling in Area 4 later this year as MOG continues to geographically diversify exploration activities and capital spend. We look forward to working with Cairn to evaluate the exploration potential of Blocks 1, 2, and 3 of Area 3, which we believe could mirror the exploration opportunities demonstrated elsewhere in the Sicily Channel.”
Press Release, July 24, 2013