LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - UK and Ireland focussed oil and gas exploration, development and production company Europa Oil & Gas announced on Monday that the Irish Government has approved its application for a 12 month extension to the first phase of Frontier Exploration Licence 2/13 to 4 July 2020.
The AIM-traded firm has a 100% interest in FEL 2/13, which is located on the west flank of the South Porcupine basin, and includes the Kiely prospects and the Doyle Cretaceous channel complex.

It said the 280 million-barrel Kiely East prospect was the top ranked prospect on the Licence.

The next steps for the licence included integration of recently-purchased CREAN 3D seismic data, the board explained, with a particular focus on mapping the extension of Kiely East into open acreage to the south of the licence.

A site survey application for a drilling location on Kiely East was currently in process.

FEL 2/13 was one of six offshore Ireland licences held by Europa, which potentially held gross mean unrisked prospective resources of 6.4 billion barrels oil equivalent and 1.5 trillion cubic feet of gas.

"Today's extension enables us to press on with preparations to drill an exploration well to test the 280 million barrel Kiely East prospect on FEL 2/13," said chief executive officer Hugh Mackay.

"Kiely East is just one of a number of priority targets we have identified across our portfolio of six offshore Ireland licences which, subject to securing farm-out partners and relevant regulatory permissions, we are looking to drill at the earliest opportunity.

"With this in mind, we are focussed on proving up the company-making resources we have identified across multiple play types and basins on our offshore Ireland licences."

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