Arenite Petroleum Limited, a privately-owned gas exploration company, has completed the re-assignment, in accordance with an existing commercial arrangement, to acquire a further 10% equity from joint venture partners Europa Oil and Gas Limited in Cleveland Basin licence PEDL343 in North Yorkshire.
In addition to the large gasfield offshore North Yorkshire near the coastal town of Scarborough in offshore block 41/24, Arenite and co-venturers recognised and were successfully awarded the onshore extension of a huge Carboniferous gas accumulation which was tested onshore by the Bow Valley gas discovery at Cloughton-1 in 1986. The Cloughton well was drilled during a previous petroleum price crash and within a few months of the first major Carboniferous gas discoveries in the Southern North Sea. At the time of drilling, these finds were considered to be non-commercial. These offshore gasfields were developed over the following decades and have proved a major boost to both the indigenous gas supply and the UK economy.
Mike Cooper, CEO of Arenite Petroleum Limited said “I believe with state-of-the-art drilling, completion & production techniques, commercial deliverability can be achieved in such Carboniferous discoveries. This is a vast resource which could help transform both the national and local economy”.
The Carboniferous is known to hold huge potential in both shale gas and tight sandstone strata throughout Northern England, as reported in the BGS/DECC Bowland Shale gas study.
Arenite recently completed a successful raise via crowd-funding and the new investors will be pleased the hoped-for trebling of our equity position in PEDL343 has delivered our first goal for 2017.
The new licence equity interests are:
Third Energy UK Gas Limited 20.0% (Operator)
Europa Oil & Gas Limited 35.0%
Egdon Resources UK Limited 17.5%
Arenite Petroleum Limited 15.0%
Petrichor Energy UK Gas Limited 12.5%