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Rockhopper finds oil in Falklands
By Miles Johnson
Published: May 6 2010 16:07 | Last updated: May 6 2010 16:07
The recent drilling campaign off the Falklands has been attacked by Argentina as a violation of its sovereignty
A UK oil explorer has made the first discovery of oil in the Falkland Islands, threatening to re-ignite a smouldering diplomatic dispute between Britain and Argentina over the islands' sovereignty.
Shares in Rockhopper Exploration leapt on the news, more than doubling the company's value after it said that early drilling data from the Falklands "indicated an oil discovery". The shares rose 54p to 91p, valuing the company's equity at ￡64m ($95m).
Analysts however warned that further tests were needed to tell if the oil discovery would be commercially viable.
"This is very significant, but it is too early to know if it is a commercial discovery," said Richard Rose, an analyst at Oriel Securities. "Other factors, such as the permeability if the rock are key for it being commercial, and that data is still being collected. This is a big tick in the box, but we are not completely there yet".
Oil companies have estimated there could be several billion barrels of oil in the northern Falklands basin, but the recent drilling campaign in the waters off of the contested islands has been attacked by Argentina – which went to war with Britain over the islands in 1982 – as a violation of its sovereignty.
Argentina has accused Britain of refusing to abide by UN resolutions calling for both sides to negotiate over their sovereignty claims to the islands it calls the Malvinas. Argentine has also banned any ship servicing the four London-listed oil explorers operating on the Islands from passing through its territorial waters.
Rockhopper said it would further analyse the data from the well at its "Sea Lion" prospect before making a decision to explore further, but that the find was encouraging.
"We are extremely excited by the results of this well," said Sam Moody, Rockhopper's managing director.
"While we are presently acquiring additional data, current indications are that we have made the first oil discovery in the North Falkland Basin. We will now focus on analysing in more detail the data gathered from the well".
The four London-listed oil companies operating in the Falklands – Rockhopper, Desire, Falklands Oil & Gas, and Borders & Southern – last year raised quarter of a billion pounds from investors to sail a floating drilling rig from Scotland to the Falklands to drill for oil there for the first time since 1998.
In the late 1990s drilling by Shell showed traces of oil and gas in the north Falklands basin, but the price of oil at the time was too low to make further exploration commercial. By the turn of the millennium oil majors relinquished their Falklands exploration licences, allowing a clutch of small explorers to snap them up.
Shares in Desire Petroleum slumped last month after it announced that the first well to be drilled in more than a decade had failed and would be abandoned. Shares in Desire, which has acreage close by to Rockhopper's Sea Lion prospect it plans to drill later this year, rose 59 per cent on Thursday.
Shares in Falklands Oil & Gas, and Borders & Southern – which is not drilling in this campaign – rose by 14 and 20 per cent respectively on Thursday.
Rockhopper finds oil in Falklands
By Miles Johnson
Published: May 6 2010 16:07 | Last updated: May 6 2010 16:07
The recent drilling campaign off the Falklands has been attacked by Argentina as a violation of its sovereignty
A UK oil explorer has made the first discovery of oil in the Falkland Islands, threatening to re-ignite a smouldering diplomatic dispute between Britain and Argentina over the islands' sovereignty.
Shares in Rockhopper Exploration leapt on the news, more than doubling the company's value after it said that early drilling data from the Falklands "indicated an oil discovery". The shares rose 54p to 91p, valuing the company's equity at ￡64m ($95m).
Analysts however warned that further tests were needed to tell if the oil discovery would be commercially viable.
"This is very significant, but it is too early to know if it is a commercial discovery," said Richard Rose, an analyst at Oriel Securities. "Other factors, such as the permeability if the rock are key for it being commercial, and that data is still being collected. This is a big tick in the box, but we are not completely there yet".
Oil companies have estimated there could be several billion barrels of oil in the northern Falklands basin, but the recent drilling campaign in the waters off of the contested islands has been attacked by Argentina – which went to war with Britain over the islands in 1982 – as a violation of its sovereignty.
Argentina has accused Britain of refusing to abide by UN resolutions calling for both sides to negotiate over their sovereignty claims to the islands it calls the Malvinas. Argentine has also banned any ship servicing the four London-listed oil explorers operating on the Islands from passing through its territorial waters.
Rockhopper said it would further analyse the data from the well at its "Sea Lion" prospect before making a decision to explore further, but that the find was encouraging.
"We are extremely excited by the results of this well," said Sam Moody, Rockhopper's managing director.
"While we are presently acquiring additional data, current indications are that we have made the first oil discovery in the North Falkland Basin. We will now focus on analysing in more detail the data gathered from the well".
The four London-listed oil companies operating in the Falklands – Rockhopper, Desire, Falklands Oil & Gas, and Borders & Southern – last year raised quarter of a billion pounds from investors to sail a floating drilling rig from Scotland to the Falklands to drill for oil there for the first time since 1998.
In the late 1990s drilling by Shell showed traces of oil and gas in the north Falklands basin, but the price of oil at the time was too low to make further exploration commercial. By the turn of the millennium oil majors relinquished their Falklands exploration licences, allowing a clutch of small explorers to snap them up.
Shares in Desire Petroleum slumped last month after it announced that the first well to be drilled in more than a decade had failed and would be abandoned. Shares in Desire, which has acreage close by to Rockhopper's Sea Lion prospect it plans to drill later this year, rose 59 per cent on Thursday.
Shares in Falklands Oil & Gas, and Borders & Southern – which is not drilling in this campaign – rose by 14 and 20 per cent respectively on Thursday.
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