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Oil firms take gamble with Falklands (again)

Despite disappointing results so far, oil firms are still pursuing opportunities in seas around the Falkland Islands

A number of companies are continuing to explore the seas near the Falkland Islands in the hope that the relatively disappointing results so far are misleading.

In 2010, companies including Desire Petroleum and Rockhopper Exploration discovered oil reserves in the region, after geological surveys revealed there may be as much as 60bn barrels of oil under the sea near the islands. Rockhopper claim their discovery is commercially viable and plan to begin production from 2016.

US firm Noble Energy announced this week that they too have begun looking for oil recently and hope to begin production within the next six years. It has an agreement in place with Falkland Oil & Gas, one of the leading firms focused on the area, that will see it spend up to $230m exploring during the next three years.

Noble’s senior vice president Susan Cunningham told reporters yesterday: “We believe that the Falklands Islands is an area where above-ground risk is very manageable. The regulatory environment is sophisticated and stable, and the financial terms are attractive.”

Chuck Davidson, Noble’s CEO, added that his company was continuing to search for oil in a number of regions around the world, including in Mediterranean and in Nevada. He told reporters: “We do not expect all of them to work. That is always true with exploration, but with the prospects that we have highlighted today, it would just take one to be successful to have a very meaningful impact on our company.”

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