Orcadian and TGS sign seismic licensing deal

Orcadian Energy, a North Sea oil and gas operator, has entered into a seismic licensing deal with the energy data company TGS to access high-quality seismic data for evaluating the multitude of development opportunities and prospects within its North Sea portfolio.

Under the agreement, Orcadian will gain access to 2,070 sq km of newly reprocessed and interpreted 3D seismic data covering the bulk of its licensees and enabling evaluation of nearby open acreage in the upcoming 33rd round.

Additionally, TGS will, subject to Pilot field development plan (FDP) approval, acquire 100 sq km of new seismic over the Elke and Narwhal discoveries.

Orcadian added that the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has confirmed that the acquisition of this data will satisfy the Phase B work commitment on P2482 and that the company has requested that NSTA allows P2482 to continue into Phase B.

Orcadian has 79MMbbls of 2P reserves in the Pilot field, 78MMbbls of 2C Resources in Elke, Narwhal and Blakeney discoveries, and 191MMbbls of Prospective Resources across its Western Platform licences.

With the new deal, the company hopes to improve its understanding of the full potential of its licences and the surrounding areas, in advance of the forthcoming 33rd licensing round.

TGS owns three surveys over Orcadian’s licences on the Western Platform: the Blakeney, the Catcher North and the Catcher survey.

For its part of the deal, TGS has also agreed:

• to defer, until Pilot FDP approval, a significant portion of the seismic licensing fees due under the existing licence arrangements; 
• to reprocess the Catcher and Catcher North surveys using the same processing sequence as successfully deployed on the “Blakeney” dataset; 
• to licence a further 1,865 sq km of seismic data to Orcadian, under a two-company group licence;  and
• to deliver Quantitative Interpretation (QI) products, to carry out seismic modelling and interpret the seismic over the entire area. 

In return, Orcadian will grant TGS a 1% royalty on proceeds from future production from its Western Platform licences.

Commenting on the deal, Steve Brown, Orcadian’s CEO, said: ” … We now have licensed, what we believe is the highest quality data across all of our Western Platform licences, whilst minimising value dilution to our shareholders. This deal ensures a long-term alignment between TGS and Orcadian as we seek to make the most of the development and exploration potential of our acreage.”

Back in October 2021, Orcadian entered into non-binding heads of agreement with Carrick Resources Limited on the announced farm-out of the Carra prospect.

The company has now confirmed it is working with Carrick to progress the farm-out agreement, adding that further updates will be available in due course.  

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