Azinor Catalyst approached for stake in three upcoming UK wells

Azinor Catalyst (Catalyst), a Seacrest Capital-backed E&P company, has received a Letter of Intent for the acquisition of material non-operated interests in three exploration wells planned for 2019 on its Boaz, Goose and Hinson prospects in the UK. 

The three independent prospects are estimated to contain combined gross unrisked Pmean prospective resources of 495 million barrels of oil equivalent, Catalyst said announcing the LoI on Monday.

The company noted that these prospects have been defined and de-risked utilizing new generation broadband seismic data and geoscience techniques. They are all large, high value North Sea exploration opportunities ranging across different play types and are in close proximity to existing infrastructure and export routes.

Preparations for drilling these wells are underway with the planning and procurement processes ongoing.

When it comes to its recent Agar Plantain discovery, Catalyst said it continues to be encouraged by the data being generated from further analysis of the well results. Catalyst is working with its partners to further define this discovery and further potential exploration and appraisal drilling activity on the license.

Nick Terrell, Managing Director of Azinor Catalyst, commented: “2019 is set to be another exciting year for Catalyst, as we firm-up plans to drill these three high impact exploration wells across our UK North Sea portfolio. The receipt of this Letter of Intent represents further industry endorsement of our exploration focused strategy and high quality team.”

Henry Morris, Technical Director of Azinor Catalyst, commented: “These three prospects are all located in reservoir types that continue to deliver material commercial hydrocarbons in the North Sea. Now is the opportune time to spin the drill-bit with low rig-rates and an attractive fiscal regime; and this, coupled with our upfront investment in a large high-quality seismic database, integrated with quantitative geoscience, represents a highly compelling de-risked investment opportunity.”

The prospects

The Boaz prospect is located in the South Viking Graben and is a large untested Triassic titled fault block immediately adjacent to the UK/Norway media line and on trend to the Triassic Eirin gas condensate discovery in Norway. The Boaz structure is also thought to be gas condensate-bearing, and has estimated gross unrisked Pmean prospective resources of 242 million barrels of oil equivalent.

The Goose prospect is in the Outer Moray Firth and is a stratigraphic trap with a Lower Cretaceous Scapa sandstone objective. Goose is 12km north of the producing Claymore field and sits directly within the main hydrocarbon fairway. The Goose prospect has estimated gross unrisked Pmean prospective resources of 75 million barrels of oil equivalent.

The Hinson prospect is in the West Central Graben and comprises a large Upper Jurassic stratigraphic trap located adjacent to the hanging wall of the West Central Graben bounding fault. Hinson is surrounded by producing infrastructure, with the Gannet and Guillemot complexes to the south and the Annasuria Cluster to the west. The Hinson prospect has estimated gross unrisked Pmean prospective resources of 178 million barrels of oil equivalent.