According to a media release, Cairn Energy, which is headquartered at Edinburgh, picked up 38 per cent equity in Porcupine Basin pair Frontier Exploration Licence (FEL) 2/04 and FEL 4/08, two Irish blocks, in a cost-and-carry deal.
The company also bought stake in six adjacent licencing option blocks. The acreage covers an area of 2,753 square kilometre.
A joint venture of Chrysaor (60 per cent), Providence Resources (32 per cent) and SOSINA Exploration (8 per cent) currently operate the two licences – FEL 2/04 and FEL 4/08. These two blocks together cover an area of 1,242 sq km.
While the remaining 1,511 sq km comprise of the six adjacent licencing option blocks, known as Licencing Option (LO) 11/2. These blocks can be converted to a FEL from October 2013.
Following the deal the deal, Providence Resources will hold 32 per cent, Chrysaor 26 per cent and Sosina 4 per cent. In return, Cairn Energy will pay $4.1 million in pro-rated back costs and carry 63.33 per cent of future exploration and appraisal costs for up to two wells, subject to a cap.
The deal may strengthen Cairn Energy’s frontier-basin oriented portfolio, which also includes assets in Morocco, Senegal, Greenland and the Mediterranean.
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