Norwegian firm Statoil has signed an agreement with Jersey Oil and Gas plc and CIECO Exploration and Production to acquire 70% ownership and operatorship for the P.2170 licence on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS).
The company will acquire the 70% working interest and operatorship in the licence for $2m.
P.2170 lies in the Buchan Graben in the Outer Moray Firth region, an area containing the Buchan, Buzzard and Ettrick oil discoveries.
Statoil’s Norway and the UK exploration senior vice president said: “This transaction underpins Statoil’s exploration strategy of exploiting prolific basins and deepening in core areas.
“It further strengthens our position on the UKCS and brings a potential impact opportunity in to our portfolio.”
Following the completion of the transaction, Statoil will own 70% stake in P.2170 licence, while Jersey Oil and Gas and CIECO with hold 18% and 12%, respectively.
However, the transaction is subject to approval by the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA).
Statoil’s UK exploration head Jenny Morris said: “The opportunity looks promising and we are looking forward to further evaluating the data to assess the feasibility of testing the prospect.
“It adds additional acreage and volume potential to our UK portfolio and we could potentially drill this prospect next year.”
Statoil aims to become an active explorer on the UKCS and is the operator for the Mariner field, which is currently under development.
In June, it signed an agreement to acquire 45% stake in UK license P312 Block 16/18a from JX Nippon Exploration and Production, for undisclosed amount.