Newly-listed exploration firm Fastnet Oil and Gas said today it had been awarded two licensing options covering areas of the Celtic Sea offshore Ireland.
Awarded by the Irish government’s petroleum affairs division, they include blocks and part of blocks in the Molly Malone basin in the north Celtic Sea and in the Mizzen basin in the south Celtic Sea.
Fastnet said it believed both licences could contain in-place resources of as much as 1billion barrels of oil equivalent each.
Both options are for 18 months and include commitments to purchase and interpret existing 2D seismic data.
Subject to the results, Fastnet said it would then move to acquire 3D seismic data.
However, the firm said its application for a licence covering blocks in the Fastnet basin of the Celtic Sea was unsuccessful.
An application for an onshore shale gas exploration licence in the Dublin basin was also turned down.
Fastnet chief executive Steve Staley said: “I am very pleased to announce the award of these two highly prospective licence areas in the Celtic Sea, one of our key focus areas and which has received a lot of attention recently due to the recent successful appraisal of the large Barryroe discovery.
“To have been granted these two licence options so soon in the company’s development is testament to the team we have in place and the future potential of the business. I look forward to bringing shareholders further news on the Molly Malone and Mizzen licence areas as and when appropriate.”
Fastnet started trading on AIM on Monday after raising £10million, before expenses, in a share placing.
The firm was founded and is being led by a team of executives from Cove Energy, currently the subject of a bidding war between energy giant Shell and Thailand’s state oil firm PTT Exploration and Production.
Mr Staley, also a non-executive director of Cove Energy, said the firm’s focus would be on finding early stage exploration and production opportunities in the Celtic Sea and Africa.