Irish drilling programme

RNS Number : 8518I

Cairn Energy PLC

09 July 2013

 



For Immediate Release                                                                                               9 July 2013

CAIRN ENERGY PLC ("Cairn" or the "Company")

 Cairn receives Government approval as Operator for Irish drilling programme

The Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (DCENR) has approved Cairn's farm-in as Operator with a 38% working interest (WI) in two exploration licences (FEL 2/04 and FEL 4/08) and one licensing option covering 2,753 km² in the Porcupine Basin offshore West of Ireland. 

Cairn has also today entered into a contract to secure a drilling rig for the planned Spanish Point appraisal well in licence FEL 2/04.

 
Cairn and its Joint Venture (JV) partners: Chrysaor (26% WI), Providence Resources (32% WI) and SOSINA Exploration Ltd (SOSINA) (4% WI), will use the "Blackford Dolphin" which is an enhanced Aker H3 deep-water semi submersible drilling rig.

Subject to obtaining the necessary approvals the rig which underwent a $400 million deepwater upgrade in 2006 will be mobilised to begin operations on this well in Q2 2014.

Enquiries to:

Analysts / Investors

David Nisbet, Corporate Affairs                                                                Tel: [phone]

Media
Patrick Handley, David Litterick

Brunswick Group LLP                                                                             Tel: [phone]

NOTES TO EDITORS

Cairn Energy PLC ('Cairn') is one of Europe's leading independent oil and gas exploration and development companies and is listed on the London Stock Exchange. Cairn has discovered and developed oil and gas reserves in a variety of locations around the world. The company historically focused its activities on the geographic region of South Asia where it operated for more than 20 years.  During this time it discovered, developed and produced oil and gas both offshore and onshore in Bangladesh and India and made more than 40 significant discoveries.  In particular, Cairn made a major oil discovery in Rajasthan in the north west of India at the beginning of 2004 where over 25 discoveries have since been made with the potential to provide more than 30% of India's crude oil production.  Today, Cairn continues to hold an approximate 10% shareholding in Cairn India Limited. Cairn's business operations are now focused on frontier exploration acreage in Morocco, Senegal, Ireland, Greenland and the Mediterranean along with exploration and pre-development interests in the North Sea. Cairn has its headquarters in Edinburgh, Scotland supported by operational offices in London, Greenland, Norway, Spain and Morocco. 

Cairn in Morocco

Ø Cairn operates two exploration permits offshore Morocco where it is planning a multi-well drilling programme commencing H2 2013.

Cairn in Greenland

Ø Cairn through its subsidiary, Capricorn, operates 11 blocks offshore Greenland.

Ø A total of 14 exploration wells have been drilled offshore Greenland to date, five of which were drilled in the 1970s, one in 2000, three by Cairn in 2010 and five by Cairn in 2011.

Cairn in UK and Norway

Ø Cairn has non-operated and operated exploration, appraisal and development assets in the UK and Norwegian North Sea.

Cairn in the Mediterranean area

Ø Cairn is in the early stages of carrying out frontier exploration in Spain.

Ø Cairn has interests in Area 3 in Malta.

Cairn in Senegal

Ø Cairn has farmed-in as Operator (65%) to three blocks offshore Senegal, subject to regulatory approval.

Cairn in Ireland

Ø Cairn has farmed-in as Operator (38%) to two licences offshore West of Ireland.

Cairn and Corporate Responsibility

Ø Cairn is a signatory to the UN Global Compact and our core values of respect, responsibility, relationships and our commitments towards people, the environment and society are enshrined in our Business Principles, which are available on the Cairn website at http://www.cairnenergy.com/index.asp?pageid=282

 

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