First of all, Ispy, once you've read the following, may I suggest you give Dr. Colin Phipps, (CEO of Desire Petroleum), a 'phone call and tell him he is a "Super Hype BS", (as you put it).
His 'phone number is : 00 44 1684 892242. Please let me know what he says.
The following was taken from the SARTMA website, (www.sartma.com), for the BBC's world service radio programme.
DESIRE PETROLEUM LOOKS FOR NEW PARTNERS TO CONTINUE FALKLANDS EXPLORATION.
A Report for BBC World Service “Calling The Falklands” by Jasper Corbett (JC) 28/07/00
While the Hydrocarbons Commission was meeting, Desire Petroleum, which took part in the early phase of oil exploration around the Falklands has been getting ready to issue what has been known as farm-in documents for its assets to the north of the Islands. The hope is that new companies can be attracted to finance the drilling of further wells in exchange for a percentage of the concession. I spoke to the Chairman of Desire Petroleum, Dr. Colin Phipps (CP) and asked him where he’s got to in terms of getting new investors onboard.
CP: We’re starting the process of speaking to other companies actually in the middle of next month and this process will go on certainly until the end of the year. It’s a question of the level of interest that we see. It’s also a question, of course, of the kind of deals that we might be able to do and then we have to write contracts this time. It’s not a slow process but it not a particularly rapid process but hopefully we would be looking to have a farm-in partner sometime by the end of the year.
JC: And then perhaps renewed drilling could begin at the end of the following year? Next year?
CP: Yes. Hopefully we will be able to start drilling next year in 2001 if we manage to farm out properly but that will depend, again, on a large extent on the availability of a drilling rig. We are now looking into the possibility of bringing a drilling rig from Brazil which is, of course, much closer.
JC: and, this time, if you did renew drilling, you would, presumably, be drilling in different places to where you previously drilled?
CP: Yes. The first six wells have been extremely valuable in that they have demonstrated that there’s been a great deal of oil generated in the North Falklands Basin. But they also demonstrated that we were not drilling in the correct places to find the accumulations of oil, which hopefully, have happened close to this generation of oil. For the next wells will be drilled with a different targets, a different interpretation. Not exactly a different interpretation, it’s more a better understanding of where oil might have accumulated. But it’s still a high risk business, of course. I am not able to say we definitely will find something but we are now in a much better position given the result of the first six wells, to have a better understanding of the geology.
JC: Do you share the optimism of the Falkland Islands Government that there is a potential 60 Billion barrels of oil in the area?
CP: I don’t really think it’s a question of optimism. There have been two studies now that have been done on the results of the drilling. Two independent studies have been done, one by Shell and another by a firm of international consultants. Both have essentially come up with very, very similar figures which, I think, shows beyond a doubt that there has been major amounts of oil generated and expelled. I don’t think that’s a question of optimism. I think that is a fact. The important thing is to find out where it’s accumulated.
JC: and, are you keen to renew your concession beyond its expiry date in October 2001?
CP: Well, they don’t actually expire. The first exploration period expires but then we have the right to continue for another 7 years and we shall certainly be doing that, yes.
JC: Following this week’s Hydrocarbons Commission meeting the statement described existing diverging interpretations in relations to some aspects of the ’95 Joint Declaration. Do you think this kind of political argument might put off potential investors?
CP: It’s possible that it might. It didn’t last time and the international oil company works within a climate of these sorts of international disagreements. In places these disagreements are much more violent and difficult than they are in the Falklands. You’ve only got to think of places like Angola or Nigeria or whatever to understand that the international oil industry is well used to this type of thing and I don’t honestly think that this will prevent anybody who is serious about farming-in to the Falklands from coming in. |
