Ithaca has confirmed the completion of its deal to acquire the remaining 40% stake in the Fotla discovery from Spirit Energy.
Announced in July, the acquisition also sees Ithaca (LON:ITH) take charge of three exploration licences (P.213 Area C, P.345 Area A and P.2536), and takes its working interest in Fotla to 100%.
Fotla is located in Block 22/1b of the central North Sea in 431 feet of water, about 6 miles south-west of Ithaca’s Alba field.
The small find was uncovered in August 2021 during drilling in the region, and subsequently appraised by two side-tracks. At the time, analysts hailed it as a “ray of light” in an otherwise subdued year.
Estimated to hold mid-case recoverable resources of 21 million barrels of oil equivalent Ithaca said on Wednesday that development plans were still being evaluated, with first production targeted in 2026.
The conceptual field development plan consists of a subsea tieback to existing infrastructure, with the Alba platform being most likely.
A final investment decision has previously been pegged for later this year.
Ithaca chief executive officer Alan Bruce said: “We are delighted to announce the completion of this acquisition which provides Ithaca Energy with full control over the pre-final investment decision work programme and timing of project sanction.
“The deal strengthens our high-quality development portfolio and demonstrates further delivery of our clearly articulated strategy.”
Meanwhile Spirit continues to operate in “run-off mode”, a strategy that will see it make no further investments in oil and gas production, but focus instead on covering decommissioning liabilities and developing energy transition opportunities.
It was recently granted a carbon storage licence in the offshore Morecambe Area, a move which it said would support its plans to repurpose the North and South Morecambe gas fields for CCS.
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