FAROE - West Shetlands License 1161

Project Status

As of end August 2011, Faroe Petroleum announced an oil discovery in its first operated exploration well on the Fulla prospect in the west of Shetland.

The 206/5a-3 exploration well discovers oil in the Fulla prospect. The well penetrated a gross oil column in the well of 133 feet and a net oil column of 45 ft. Reservoir quality is better than expected.

The oil has been sampled and details of the oil quality will be confirmed by further analysis conducted in the onshore laboratory.

Faroe’s first operated exploration well has been successfully drilled in accordance with UK's HSE guidelines.

Well 206/5a-3 on the Fulla prospect was spudded on 6th July 2011 and was drilled to a total depth of 7,711 feet total vertical depth sub-sea (TVDSS) in 407 feet water depth. This Atlantic Margin well, located 31 kilometres to the north east of the BP-operated Clair field platform, was targeting potentially oil-bearing Clair and Whiting reservoir sands with the primary objectives of confirming hydrocarbons within the structure and, if present, running a comprehensive suite of wireline logs and obtaining representative oil samples.

The targeted reservoirs were encountered close to prognosis. The well drilled through a gross oil column of 133 feet and a net oil column of 45 ft. The average porosity in the net interval has been estimated at 23%. Oil samples were successfully recovered to allow detailed fluid analysis to be conducted in the onshore laboratory. Detailed data analysis will now commence on interpreting the results of this well, and subsequently, to work to identify development options that include the Freya discovery made in 1980, which is located immediately to the south in the adjoining Block 206/10a (Faroe 50% and operator).

The Awilco-owned WilPhoenix semi-submersible drilling rig, which was used for the drilling operation, is now actively engaged in operations to plug and abandon the well as planned, and is expected to move away from the location in the coming days.

In December 2010 Faroe farmed out a 50% interest in this licence to Canadian Overseas Petroleum Limited on promoted terms.

Faroe Petroleum has announced that it intends to cease operations on the P1161 license (Freya and Fulla), west of Shetland.

Extensive modelling has since been undertaken to establish the resource potential and assess a means of economically developing the Fulla discovery in conjunction with the 1980 Freya discovery, located immediately to the south in the adjoining Block 206/10a. The results of this work confirm relatively poor oil quality, smaller than expected resource size and limited access to infrastructure. No economically viable solution has been found to bring these discoveries to development at this time, and consequently the license will be relinquished.

Nov 2012 Faroe Petroleum relinquished west of Shetland P1161 license (Topco).