OMV signs Irish/Albanian asset swap with Island Rockall
OMV Adriatic Sea Exploration GmbH, the Albanian wholly owned subsidiary of the Austrian oil and gas incumbent OMV, signed an asset swap agreement with Island Rockall JV Limited (Island), owned by independent exploration and production company Island Oil and Gas plc.
Under the deal, Island has assigned to OMV a 50% interest in the offshore Ireland Frontier exploration licence 3/05 (“FEL 3/05”) in return for OMV’s 50% interest in the Durresi exploration block, offshore Albania. The assignment of interests is subject to the final approval of the competent authorities in Ireland and Albania. Closing is expected within the next couple of months. The expansion of OMV’s activities in the core region Northwestern Europe is in line with the company’s growth strategy, the company said.
The offshore Ireland FEL 3/05 covers an area of approximately 715 square kilometres and is located on the Atlantic Margin approximately 70 kilometres off the west coast of Ireland. The licence area contains the Killala exploration prospect covering an area of up to 80 square kilometres, together with a number of other leads and prospects.
“We plan to start seismic acquisition on the Irish shelf next year. We hope to find oil or gas there, but we cannot say at this point whether or how much gas there could be,” a spokesman for OMV said this month.
OMV’s 50% interest in the Durresi exploration block in Albania, which will be assigned to Island in the course of the swap agreement, covers an area of 4,200 square kilometres along the Adriatic coastline of Western Albania. The spokesman was also unable to give further details on potential gas reserves at the block.
OMV said the step strengthened its E&P core region Northwestern Europe [comprising activities in the UK, Ireland and the Faeroes Island] and also Norway. OMV has interests in ten producing fields and 43 exploration licenses in the region, with an average production of about 13,000 barrel of oil equivalent per day (boe/d).
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