Cairn Energy has still not decided whether to commit to a 3D seismic survey of Area 3, saying it would first conclude the 2D seismic and geological evaluation currently underway.

Carin is the operator for the area, the only one where any level of exploration is currently underway.

Under the terms of the 2012 exploration study agreement, Cairn has to take a decision one way or the other before the end of 2018.

In its interim results for the first half of 2016, Cairn reported $98.6 million costs for un-successful explorations, almost three times the $33.8 million reported at the end of December 2015.

The only exploration costs listed in its results were $31.4 million, of which $5.8 million were for the Malta licence.

Area 3 covers an area of 6,000 sq.km area in the hands of Melita Exploration, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rockhopper Exploration Plc.

Phoenicia Energy Company and Melita Exploration had pulled out of the concession for Area 4 in January 2015 after the first exploration phase, which involved the drilling of the Haġar Qim well.

The reduction in oil companies’ profits is hurting high risk exploration more than it is production. A PwC report on trends for 2016 noted that, as a response to the drop in the price of oil, companies were slashing outlays: “They are expected to cut capital expenditures by 30 per cent in 2016. Already, some $200 billion worth of projects have been cancelled or postponed,” it warned.