Highlights
- Guinea well scheduled to spud mid-November
- Anglesey farm-out negotiations at advanced stage
- Long offset seismic acquired across Leopard prospect
- Panther prospect matured ready for farm-out
- 24th UK Licensing Round awards delayed until mid-November.
Central North Sea Licences
UKCS Block 15/13b – Guinea Prospect (EXR 13.125%)
The Company’s next exploration well on the Guinea prospect in Central North Sea Block 15/13b is anticipated to spud around mid-November. Nexen Petroleum UK, the well operator and principal farminee, has signed up the Borgsten Dolphin drilling rig on a multi-well contract and Guinea is scheduled to be the second well in the rig’s planned upcoming drilling campaign. After being delayed with the previous operator, Nexen has just taken delivery of the rig to commence its program.
Under the terms of the farm-in agreements announced in May 2006, Elixir will retain a 13.125% interest in the block with its share of well costs being fully-funded by Nexen and Gas Plus Italiana SpA. During the quarter another potential farminee, Albion Petroleum, withdrew from the group of farminees after failing to prove its financial capacity. However Albion’s 6.25% working interest has been taken up by Gas Plus thereby increasing the latter’s interest to 12.5%.
The Guinea prospect is a robust four-way dip closed Palaeocene structure which lies on-trend with producing fields such as Balmoral and Dumbarton. Nexen drilled the Yeoman discovery on the neighbouring Block 15/18b to the south in 2005.
On an unrisked basis, the Guinea structure is estimated to host prospective resources of between 65 million (low case) and 120 million (high case) barrels of oil on Block 15/13b if hydrocarbons are present, with a mid case estimate of 91 million barrels. Projected drilling time for the well is approximately 21 days on a dry-hole basis.
Other 22nd Round Licence Farmouts
A number of the Company’s other 22nd Round Promote licences are approaching their second anniversary where a drilling or substantial work program commitment will be required by the DTI in order to retain the licence.
Advanced farm-out negotiations are continuing with a number of parties for Block 14/14b which hosts the Anglesey prospect. We are confident that a farm-in deal will be finalised whereby Elixir and its partner, Granby Oil & Gas, are free-carried through another exploration well.
Northern North Sea Licences
Block 211/18b (EXR 80%)
Block 211/18b contains the large Upper Jurassic Leopard prospect. A long offset seismic survey has recently been acquired by TGS-NOPEC which links Leopard with the Borg field on the Norwegian side of the median line and also to Elixir’s Block 211/22b where the Jaguar well was drilled earlier this year. Borg is a developed oil field producing from an analogous geological setting to Leopard. The new seismic data when processed should further de-risk Leopard and assist in the planned farm-out marketing campaign.
Block 211/8b (EXR 80%)
Additional seismic data acquired from Shell’s Penguin 3D survey has recently been interpreted to better define the Panther prospect in Block 211/8b. The results are considered encouraging such that an intense farm-out marketing program will now commence with prospective farminees.
24th Seaward Licensing Round
Announcement by the DTI of the successful applicants in the current 24th offshore UK licensing round is now not expected before mid-November. The DTI’s technical assessment process has been delayed by several factors including applications made in environmentally-sensitive areas, a recent European Union legal case and the large number of Traditional licence applications submitted.
The Company has made a number of 24th Round applications in partnership with two experienced North Sea companies. The round has attracted record industry interest with applications for 147 licences submitted by 121 companies including 25 new entrants to the UK North Sea.
Corporate
Annual General Meeting
The Company’s second annual general meeting is scheduled to be held at the Sheraton Hotel in Perth, Western Australia, commencing at 10.00 am on Friday November 17.
Resignation of Director
During the September quarter Angus MacAskill resigned from his position as Business Director with the Company. Angus who was a board member of Elixir since late 2004 stepped down to pursue external opportunities in the upstream oil and gas sector.
