Bahamas Petroleum ‘confident’ of finding drilling partner soon. Raises $2.5M

London-listed oil company Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) is confident it will soon find a farm-in partner for its offshore acreage in the Bahamas, where it has an obligation to drill an exploration well.

 The company on Friday said it had raised $2.54 million via a share placement. The funds raised, together with the existing cash, will be used as Bahamas Petroleum’s working capital over at least 12 months, as it seeks to secure a farm-in partner to finance an exploratory well on the company’s 100 percent-owned Bain, Cooper, Donaldson, and Eneas licenses.

The government of The Bahamas awarded the company an extension until December 31, 2020, for the second exploration period on the licenses back in late February.

During the extension period, BPC has an obligation to drill an exploration well in the acreage which the company says has “a multi-billion-barrel potential.”

BPC expressed confidence on Friday that it would be able to attract a farm-in partner since the licenses have been extended with discussions already ongoing with “a number of potential farm-in partners.”

Simon Potter, CEO of BPC, said: “Our focus at Bahamas Petroleum remains clear and unwavering: to drill an initial exploration well on our highly prospective acreage in The Bahamas.”

“We have a world-class drill-ready asset, with multi-billion-barrel potential as certified by third parties. The Bahamian regulatory regime is fully enacted, and we have a clear license term through to the end of 2020 […]. Now, with today’s placing, we have secured the funds needed as we continue to seek a farm-out agreement, and thereafter move forward to drilling of the initial exploration well and realizing the offshore potential in The Bahamas.”

As for the development of the southern licenses, BPC presented a conceptual forward work plan in June 2017, with an exploration well planned in 2018 – which didn’t happen – and in case of a discovery, an appraisal well would follow in late 2019, and if all goes well, a production would start in 2023 via an FPSO.

It is also worth noting that the search for a partner was not the first one BPC conducted for these licenses. The company suffered a setback last year after an unnamed oil major pulled out from exclusive talks over a potential a farm-in.

Offshore Energy Today Staff