Azinor teams up with Maersk Drilling and Seapulse to drill two UK wells in 2020

Azinor Catalyst Limited (Catalyst), the Seacrest Capital Group-backed E&P Company, has committed to the UK’s Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) to the drilling of two wells in 2020. These two firm wells form part of a three-well 2020 campaign.

For illustration: One of Maersk Drilling's rigs. Source: Maersk Drilling

Azinor Catalyst said on Friday it had signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Maersk Drilling to deliver the full campaign under the scope of the master alliance agreement between Seapulse and Maersk Drilling.

To remind, Maersk Drilling and Seapulse last December signed a master alliance agreement under which Maersk Drilling would provide fully integrated services for a global offshore oil & gas exploration drilling program of 12 wells. Seapulse is an oil and gas exploration investment company co-founded in 2018 by Seacrest Group and I-Pulse, Inc.

Azinor said that preparations for drilling of these wells are under way. A fully integrated agreement for Maersk Drilling to provide end-to-end drilling services for all three operations is expected to be finalized in due course.

Catalyst has signed farm-out agreements with Seapulse Limited for the drilling of the Boaz and Hinson wells. The Goose well farm-out negotiations are progressing.

According to the company, the three prospects – Boaz, Hinson, and Goose – have been defined and de-risked utilizing new-generation broadband seismic data and quantitative geoscience techniques. The three independent prospects are estimated to contain combined gross unrisked Pmean prospective resources of 495 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Nick Terrell, Managing Director of Azinor Catalyst, commented: “We are delighted to commit to drilling these high-value North Sea exploration opportunities. What is particularly pleasing, is that not only will we benefit from bringing Seapulse into the partnership, but we will be partnering with Maersk Drilling under the Seapulse – Maersk Drilling Alliance, which will bring additional operational efficiencies during our back-to-back three-well drilling campaign.”

In a separate statement on Friday, Seapulse said that these wells are in the initial portfolio of 12 planned high-impact exploration wells announced in December 2018, testing 6 bnboe of gross prospective resources over a two-year period.

Seapulse Co-founder and CEO, Scott Aitken, commented: “These prospects are the product of a basin-master approach leveraging latest generation high-definition 3D seismic data. Boaz is in close proximity to Equinor’s operated Eirin gas and condensate field and Hinson is on trend with the 2019 discovery of Glengorm by CNOOC and Total, the largest discovery in the North Sea for eight years.”

Boaz & Hinson prospects

The Boaz prospect is located in license P2165, Block 16/8c in the South Viking Graben area. This license sits adjacent to the UK/Norwegian median line and in close proximity to the Norwegian Eirin field, which is currently under development. The main focus on the block is the large gas condensate ‘Boaz’ prospect which comprises a large untested Triassic fault bound structure.

The Hinson prospect is located in license P2179, 21/25c in the Central Graben area. This Traditional license sits adjacent to numerous fields and infrastructure. The main focus on the block is the large ’Hinson’ oil prospect which consists of stratigraphically trapped Kimmeridge Clay Formation sands, encased in oil mature Kimmeridge Clay Formation mudstones.

Offshore Energy Today Staff


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