Jersey Oil & Gas hails ‘transformational’ North Sea oil field award
Jersey Oil & Gas, an independent drilling company, was today awarded the right to operate North Sea oil fields containing more than 100m barrels of discovered oil.
The company’s shares rocketed 136 per cent today as it hailed the award as the “most significant event for JOG [Jersey Oil & Gas] since its inception”.
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Jersey has been awarded three blocks including the Buchan oil field, which previously operated from 1981 to 2018.
The Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) gave out the award as part of a licensing round.
Jersey said the new acreage also holds prospective resources equivalent to 300m barrels of oil.
It has also agreed a three-month option for Equinor to farm in 50 per cent to its Buchan oil field blocks.
The move represents a significant victory for Jersey, which recently found one of its discoveries had only 25m barrels of oil equivalent, when it had expected up to 130m.
Jersey Oil & Gas chief executive Andrew Benitz said: “We are delighted to announce this transformational event. Prior to these awards, JOG’s net share of discovered resources in Verbier were estimated at 4.5m barrels of oil equivalent.
“Today’s awards add an estimated 105m barrels of oil equivalent of discovered resources net to JOG, in addition to a material uplift in new prospective resources.
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“This represents a highly significant value enhancing milestone for our shareholders comprising 100 per cent equity interests and operatorship of key development ready assets with the potential to create a major new area hub within the greater Buchan area.”
The firm is working to create a field development plan for the site. It hopes to draw its first oil in 2024.
Main image: Getty