A British oil company has been awarded three of Malta’s offshore blocks, amounting to 6,400 square kilometres, to assess their exploration potential.
The Government signed an agreement with Capricorn Malta Ltd, a subsidiary of Cairn Energy plc, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange and headed in Edinburgh, but has operations all over the world.
Resources and Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino signed a two-year Exploration Study Agreement with the company for three blocks in Area 3, located to the north of Malta.
According to the agreement, the company must spend at least $2.5 million on exploration operations. The agreement can be extended for another 12 months and Capricorn Malta can at any time notify the Government of its intention to enter into a Production Sharing Agreement for any part of the area.
The terms of this agreement would then be negotiated.
Last week, Mediterranean Oil and Gas Plc (MOG) was granted a one-year extension on its oil exploration contract by the Government.
The extension was granted until January 2014 for the first exploration phase of the Production Sharing Contract for Malta Offshore Area 4.