Faroe to Drill 3 Exploration Wells in 2016 despite Oil Price

Northwest Europe-focused junior explorer Faroe Petroleum confirmed Friday that it will be involved in three exploration wells offshore Norway in spite of the low oil price. The firm also expects to see progress with a number of North Sea field development projects this year.

In an operational update, Faroe said that the Barents Sea-located Kvalross well, where drilling started on January 11, is progressing according to plan. Results from the Wintershall-operated well are expected by the end of this quarter. In the Norwegian North Sea, an exploration well on the Brasse prospect (where Faroe is the operator with a 50-percent interest) is planned for the summer of 2016. Faroe has secured the Transocean Arctic (mid-water semisub) rig for this operation.

Meanwhile, Faroe said that the Njord partnership, led by operator Statoil, is planning to drill a new prospect on the North Flank of the Njord field during the second half of 2016.

Faroe said that it is continuing to build its portfolio of exploration licenses organically. Active participation in licensing rounds across core areas “has proven to be a highly-successful and cost-effective strategy” for the company, it said. The firm was recently awarded a further six new prospective exploration licenses, including two operatorships, under the 2015 Norwegian APA licensing round.

In terms of development projects, Faroe said the Njord Future Project is progressing to plan, with a final investment decision expected during the fourth quarter of this year. If the decision is made to go ahead, the project will start production in 2019.

Faroe also reported that the Butch oilfield’s FEED (front-end engineering and design) project is progressing to plan. The field, which is planned as a tie-back to the BP-operated Ula oilfield, will see its final investment decision and field development plan submission occur in 4Q 2016.

In addition, Faroe expects to see work continue to mature the Pil, Bue and Boomerang discoveries towards development.