Harbour seeks to withdraw from offshore Falklands oil project
Offshore staff
LONDON – Harbour Energy has decided to exit the Sea Lion oilfield development in the North Falkland basin and its other licenses offshore the Falkland Islands.
In its latest results statement, Harbour said that although Sea Lion offers a significant resource potential, it is not a strategic fit for the company.
Harbour was created last year by the merger of Chrysaor and Premier Oil, the Sea Lion project operator.
Sam Moody, CEO of partner Rockhopper Exploration, said: “This represents both a difficult moment for Rockhopper and a huge opportunity. Whilst we are disappointed that Harbour has decided to not to proceed with Sea Lion, we remain committed to unlocking its development.”
Rockhopper originally discovered and appraised the field and surrounding prospects: independently audited 2C resources are more than 500 MMbbl.
The company added that it was in discussions with Navitas Petroleum concerning the latter’s proposed entry to the project, following Harbour’s decision not to proceed.
Recently, Navitas and its partners raised project financing of more than $900 million and took FID on the 330-MMbbl deepwater Shenandoah project in the US Gulf of Mexico.
The present Heads of Terms arrangement between Premier Oil and Navitas is due to expire on Sept. 30. If that happens, Harbour will have an initial 90 days to determine how to proceed with its exit.
Rockhopper added that it would work with the company and the Falkland Islands government to ensure a smooth exit process.
09/23/2021
