Serica said that the possible grants of further licenses applied for by the company remain subject to the results of environmental assessments by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).
Serica will be the operator of the new license and has a 100% interest.
Blocks 210/19a and 210/20a are contiguous part blocks immediately adjacent to the Otter field in the northern North Sea.
A number of oil prospects have been provisionally identified on the blocks at Jurassic Brent Group and Home Sand levels.
Two of the Brent Group prospects are down-faulted traps, an emerging and successful play in northern North Sea, and the other is a conventional Brent fault block.
The fourth prospect is in a shallower Jurassic reservoir known as the Home Sand.
The work program will include the licensing and interpretation of 3D seismic data and Serica will make a drill or drop decision within two years of the formal award.
