North Sea operator Hartshead Resources (ASX:HHR) estimates it now holds more than a trillion cubic feet of gas reserves following the 33rd Licensing Round.
The Australian firm secured 10 blocks across six licences in the latest North Sea licensing round to add to its existing P2607 Licence.
With the additional blocks, Hartshead said it now holds a net interest of 1.5 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of reserves and contingent and prospective resources.
This includes Hartshead’s existing Anning and Somerville project, as well as the Hodgkin and Lovelace plays.
The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) regulator has now fully executed and formally awarded three out of the six licences secured in the 33rd round, Hartshead said.
Hartshead said all the blocks, including fields in the Southern North Sea (SNS) and the East Irish Sea, contain either gas field re-developments or undeveloped gas fields.
Hartshead chief executive Chris Lewis said the Perth-headquartered operator is now a “significant acreage holder” in the SNS.
“The number and variety of high quality resource opportunities now present in our portfolio is both exciting and encouraging,” Lewis said.
“I look forward to seeing the results of the team’s work on the new portfolio over the coming months and being able to share this with shareholders.”
Hartshead Resources
Licences awarded to Hartshead in the 33rd round include the P2669, P2670, P2676, P2678, P2679 and P2682 licences.
Within these licences, Hartshead secured fields including Bedevere North, Bedevere Central, Bedevere South, Anglia Paris, Anglia North, Castletown, Winchelsea North, Ensign, Annabel East, Boulton-H, Katy and Cameron.
Of these fields, the largest reserve is within the Castletown field in the East Irish Sea at block 113/27c with an estimated 72 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of gas on a 1C basis.
© North Sea Transition AuthorityHartshead secured the 113/27c block, which contains the Doyle and Peel prospects in the P2682 licence, alongside Cyprus-based Comtrack UK.
The two companies also shared a licence award covering block 48/18c in the SNS.
Meanwhile, the next largest 1C reserves are at Bedevere North (68.1 Bcf), Ensign (68 Bcf), Bedevere Central (47.2 Bcf) and Bedevere South (39.1 Bcf).
© North Sea Transition AuthorityHartshead shared licences covering the 44/19b & 44/21d, 44/22, 44/23b and 44/27 blocks with Merdian Resources.
Outlining its 33rd licensing round plans, Hartshead said it expects to undertake exploration drilling in 2028 and 2029 to further assess the resources.
Hartshead North Sea operations
Elsewhere, Hartshead said it is engaged in ongoing discussions on project finance for its Anning and Somerville gas field development
Hartshead said earlier this year it was forced to make job cuts on the project after Labour announced its intention to increase the Energy Profits Levy (EPL) and remove investment allowances.
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