Finder Energy picks up its second UK offshore license

Perth-based oil and exploration company Finder Energy has been awarded a 100 per cent interest in the P2528 Licence in the 32nd UK Offshore Licensing Round.

License P2528 is located on the southern edge of the South Halibut Basin in the Central North Sea and covers an area of 454 square kilometres and is only 90 kilometres northeast of Aberdeen.

Finder said on Wednesday that the leading prospect on the licence was Whitsun, targeting the same Upper Jurassic reservoir that hosts the nearby Buzzard Oil field discovered in 2001 which contains over 1 billion barrels of oil.

In addition to the Whitsun prospect, the license contains a further four prospects and leads and a small oil discovery.

Damon Neaves, CEO of Finder, said: “[We] recently announced [our] entry into the North Sea and the addition of the P2528 licence is complimentary with our strategy to secure high-quality exploration acreage close to discoveries and infrastructure.

“Finder will unlock the exploration potential in this licence using the latest generation 3D seismic reprocessing technologies. In the coming weeks, we expect to announce further acquisitions and partnerships as [the company] continues to build its North Sea exploration portfolio”.

Finder is currently one of the most active explorers on the North West Shelf of Australia. In February 2021, Finder announced its entry into the UK North Sea. Namely, the company was awarded a 100 per cent interest in the P2530 license.

The license is in the Central North Sea and covers an area of 576 square kilometres and is located 140 kilometres northeast of Aberdeen in water depths of around 90 metres. P2530 is surrounded by oil fields including the Greater Kittiwake Area and the prolific Forties oilfield.

Within the license, the oil firm has identified stacked play potential with key objectives being the Lower Cretaceous and Upper Jurassic sandstone reservoirs.

Also worth mentioning, Finder Energy was recently awarded a 100 per cent interest in the exploration permit WA-547-P located near the massive Dorado discovery offshore Australia.