Exploration company Providence Resources has agreed a deal to farm out a 65% equity interest in the Nemo heavy oil discovery to Nautical Petroleum.
The Nemo oil discovery is under the Ardmore gas accumulation and is about 60km off shore Ireland in the North Celtic Sea Basin.
Providence says that in return for an initial 25% stake, Nautical will fund and carry out a focused work programme on the development feasibility of the Nemo site. It has an option to increase that stake up to 65% and may assume operatorship if it wants to by the end of 2011 to drill an appraisal well.
Nautical is currently involved in a number of similar heavy oil developments in the UK North Sea, including the Kraken discovery and Mariner, which is operated by Statoil.
In April, the company farmed into the Baltimore heavy oil discovery in the Celtic Sea and last week Providence and Nautical announced that as part of the ongoing Baltimore study, a new significant gas prospect has been identified in their area.
'We are very pleased to be collaborating with a company like Nautical that has significant heavy oil expertise that will help unlock the potential of the Nemo discovery and other heavy oil discoveries in the Celtic Sea,' commented Providence CEO Tony O'Reilly.
