Deepwater drilling under way south of Falklands

June 15, 2015
The semisubmersible Eirik Raude has spudded the third exploration well of its current campaign off the Falkland Islands on the deepwater Humpback prospect in the Fitzroy sub-basin.

Offshore staff

LONDON – The semisubmersible Eirik Raude has spudded the third exploration well of its current campaign off the Falkland Islands on the deepwater Humpback prospect in the Fitzroy sub-basin.

The well is being drilled on license PL012, southeast of the islands, in whichFalkland Oil and Gas Ltd. (FOGL) has a 52.5% interest. It is the first to test a new geological play concept in the area.

Humpback, in 1,260 m (4,134 ft) of water, is one of a cluster of lookalike prospects in the Fitzroy sub-basin identified from 3D seismic, with total prospective oil resources of more than 1 Bbbl.

The well will test multiple stacked reservoirs within the Cretaceous Diomedea fan complex. It is expected to take around 65 days to drill.

FOGL is part-carried through the costs by license operatorNoble Energy.

06/15/2015