New agreement for UK heavy oil exploration

Hydro has reached an agreement with Silverstone Energy Limited and Wilderness Energy UK Limited for close cooperation on the licences P-1207, P-1282 and P-1496 in Quadrant 9 on the UK continental shelf.  

According to the agreement, Hydro will fund further exploration program in exchange for up to 50 % equity in these licences, as well as having the option to take over the operatorship.

A discovery of heavy oil was made in 1991, but further appraisal of the prospect is necessary to evaluate the commerciality.

If viable reserves are confirmed, these licences close to the Mariner and Bressay fields, recently acquired from Chevron, could become part of a development plan for the area. Hydro’s experience from the heavy oil fields Grane in the North Sea and Peregrino offshore Brazil will be valuable in search of viable solutions for a development plan.

‘’By adding this cooperation to the acquisition of Mariner and Bressay, we have now an important heavy oil portfolio on the UK continental shelf for which I am very pleased. It also confirms our ambition to create a hub in this area with multiple tie-ins,’’ says Torgeir Kydland, head of International Business Development in Hydro's Oil & Energy business area.

Silverstone and Wilderness each hold 50 % in the licences today.