Page 18 - EurOil Week 23

EurOil PROJECTS & COMPANIES EurOil

Cluff, Shell still committed to

North Sea drilling plans

UK UK junior Cluff Natural Resources has said it resources in a Zechstein structure. According to
remains committed to drilling plans with Royal Cluff, this structure is on trend with the nearby
One of the planned Dutch Shell at the Pensacola and Selene pros- Darach and West Newton discoveries.
wells has been delayed. pects in the southern North Sea, despite the If commercial volumes of gas are found, they
coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. However, while could be developed using existing Breagh infra-
Pensacola will still be drilled in the first half of structure or a new pipeline to Teesside.
next year, the Selene well has been delayed until After undertaking intensive technical work,
2022. the partners are near to taking an FID on the
Cluff farmed out a 70% stake in Pensacola Selene well, Cluff said. However, given the
and a 50% interest in Selena to Shell last year, in current market conditions, it is expected to be
order to pay for exploration expenses. Thanks to drilled no sooner than 2022. The licence contain-
these deals, the company is fully funded for its ing Selene holds 8.2 bcm of gas in unaudited P50
share of costs, it said in an update on June 4. resources.
“Despite the major impact of COVID-19 on The Selene well has an estimated 39% chance
our industry, we have continued to progress our of success. A number of smaller prospects have
core gas projects,” Cluff CEO Graham Swindells also been identified at the block and will be
said in a statement. “We are delighted that Shell evaluated in due course. Selene is 20 km from
remains committed to drilling both the Pensa- Shell-operated infrastructure used for the
cola and Selene wells and we remain fully funded Barque gas field, which ultimately feeds the Bac-
for our share of both wells.” ton gas processing plant, also controlled by Shell.
Seismic contractor Shearwater completed a Cluff also said its shareholders had approved
420-square km 3D seismic survey at Pensacola the change of its name to Delta Energy. The com-
last August. The ongoing processing of this and pany has said it is well-positioned to ride out the
other, legacy seismic data remains on track, Cluff current market crisis, with no direct exposure to
said. The review of the data will be completed in oil prices and no debt. It also had GBP13.3mn
August. ($16.3mn) in cash to fall back on at the end of
The partners are confident that they can meet March.
schedules set by the UK Oil and Gas Authority “We believe that current market conditions
(OGA) on drilling, although a final investment will further reduce operating costs and may pres-
decision (FID) on the project is not yet in place. ent value-accretive opportunities which, with a
Pensacola is estimated to hold 8.75bn strong balance sheet and no debt, we look for-
cubic metres of unaudited P50 recoverable gas ward to pursuing,” Swindells said. ™

P18 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 23 11•June•2020