Cairn farms into Equinor’s blocks offshore Nicaragua

London-listed oil and gas company Cairn has farmed into Equinor’s offshore acreage in Nicaragua.

News of the farm-in was shared on Friday by Cairn’s Chief Executive Simon Thomson ahead of the company’s AGM.

Thomson said: “Since our last reporting date, we have consolidated our position in Latin America and entered into a farm-in agreement with Equinor for a 35.1% non-operated interest in four exploration blocks offshore the Nicaragua Pacific…”

It is unclear when exactly the farm-in agreement for the Pacific Ocean blocks was signed as neither Cairn nor Equinor have previously made an announcement on the deal.

Data on Cairn’s website does show the company as holding acreage in four blocks off Nicaragua, under a farm-in agreement signed “in 2019,” again with no details on when exactly in 2019.

Cairn has acquired interests in the blocks (C-1, C-2, C-3, and C-4), which cover an area of 16,000 km2 in the Sandino Basin.

Thomson said that the company has acquired the Nicaragua acreage ahead of a potential exploration drilling campaign in 2020.

“The farm-in enables Cairn to access high impact resource potential in a frontier location containing a range of exploration play types,” Thomson said.

Following the transaction, Equinor has remained the operator with 49.9% equity. Empresa Nicaraguense del Petroleo (Petronic) owns the remaining 15% stake

Offshore Energy Today has reached out to operator Equinor seeking more info on the farm-in terms and on the operational plans for Nicaragua.

An Equinor spokesperson said: “I can confirm that Cairn Energy has farmed into our acreage in Nicaragua. The partnership is working towards potentially drilling a well in 2020.”

The Norwegian company did not provide further info on the term of the deal.

Equinor, then known as Statoil, acquired the Nicaragua acreage back in 2015, marking its entry into the country. The company at the time said move was “a long-term opportunity with high subsurface uncertainty, but with impact potential.”

Offshore Energy Today Staff

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