Baron Oil Plc (LON:BOIL), the AIM-quoted oil and gas exploration and appraisal company, has noted today’s announcement by Reabold Resources plc (LON:RBD) in relation to offshore United Kingdom Licence P2478, in which Baron holds a 32% interest. Reabold Resources is the Licence administrator.
Extension Granted
The joint venture for offshore UK Licence P2478 has been granted a two year extension to Phase A of the licence by the UK North Sea Transition Authority (“NSTA”, formerly the Oil and Gas Authority). A ‘Drill or Drop’ decision is now required on or before 14 July 2025.
The extension has been made via a Deed of Variation to the Licence, which stipulates an additional commitment to acquire a minimum of 30 square kilometres of 3D seismic data.
Jon Ford, Technical Director of Baron Oil, commented:
“We are very pleased to have received this extension, having worked persuasively with our joint venture partners and the NSTA to justify this further technical work programme aimed at completing the 3D coverage over the Dunrobin West prospect and gaining further insights into the prospective reservoir. The aim is to further reduce pre-drill risks and volumetric uncertainty before re-engaging with potentially interested third parties in respect of drilling an exploration well.
“We are grateful to the Licence administrator Reabold Resources and the NSTA for their efforts in establishing this way forward for the Licence, which recognises the quality of the technical work achieved to date and the progress being made towards the potential drilling of a relatively low cost and low risk exploration well on a material prospect.”
Innovate Licence P2478, awarded in September 2019, is currently held by a joint venture comprising Reabold North Sea Limited (“Reabold”, Licence Administrator, interest 36%), Baron Oil (32%), and Upland Resources (UK Onshore) Limited (32%). The Licence covers blocks 12/27c, 17/5, 18/1 and 18/2 in the Inner Moray Firth area of the North Sea and contains the Dunrobin and Golspie prospects, in a province where regional and local petroleum systems are considered by the partners to be proven. Target depths are as shallow as 660 metres subsea and water depths are less than 100 metres.
The original key technical work components of the Phase A commitments – those of seismic reprocessing plus geochemical studies – were delivered during the second half of 2022 on time and budget with significant input from Baron Oil. Detailed seismic attribute analysis, designed to investigate candidate direct hydrocarbon indicators, followed in early 2023. A thorough revised evaluation of the prospectivity of P2478 was finalised, with the NSTA recording that the original work programme was fully complete during March 2023.
Consultancy group RPS was engaged by the joint venture to prepare a Competent Person’s Report (“CPR”) to provide an independent validation of resource estimates to a SPE PRMS compliant standard. The CPR was announced and published on Baron’s website on 16 February 2023.
The key points from the CPR include:
· 201mmboe gross unrisked Pmean Prospective Resources on Licence when aggregated by Baron;
· the Dunrobin West prospect (“Dunrobin West”) estimated to contain 119mmboe gross unrisked Pmean Prospective Resources when aggregated across the Jurassic and Triassic stacked targets by Baron; and
· 34% Geological Probability of Success (GPoS) at the Dunrobin West Jurassic primary target, with an estimated 71mmbbl (gross) of Pmean Prospective Resources.
