Petro River Oil has kicked-off its drilling campaign offshore Northern Ireland in the Larne Basin.
The Woodburn Forest prospect is estimated to hold 25 million barrels of oil, according to the firm.
President Stephen Brunner said: “The commencement of drilling operations at Larne Basin is a major milestone for the Company, its shareholders and working interest partners. Larne Basin remains one of the only Carboniferous basins in Europe that is untested for hydrocarbons. As a micro-cap company today, we are excited to be a part of a project like this with such large potential.”
“After we reach total depth, our teams will complete a comprehensive subsurface engineering study to fully analyse and evaluate each of the sandstone reservoir intervals. Findings from this well, coupled with new 3-D seismic data to be acquired in the basin over subsurface prospects previously identified by recently collected 2-D seismic data will help define and high-grade potential locations for future wells. The success of this first pilot test well, and the data gained from it, should substantially increase the value of our exploration program and reduce future development risk in Larne Basin.”
The well will be drilled to a depth of 2,000m.