The Malta Resources Authority is closely following an oil company’s search for a partner to drill for oil off Malta in an area that could yield up to 200 million barrels.
An MRA spokesman said the regulator was having regular meetings with Mediterranean Oil and Gas plc, adding that, according to reports it had received, there was interest in striking a partnership deal.
Earlier this month, the company, which explores oil and gas assets in the central Mediterranean through its subsidiary Phoenicia Energy Company Limited, acquired a 10 per cent share of Leni Gas and Oil Investments in Malta offshore area four.
The company is now looking for partners to share the cost, estimated to reach about $30 million, to drill in an area that seismic tests have shown is rich in resources.
A company spokesman explained that it had conducted 3D seismic tests over more than 1,000 square kilometres earlier this year. In essence, such tests consist of small explosions that geologists then interpret using sound waves.
According to these tests, the area off Malta, which the company has dubbed the Ħaġar Qim area, could hold between 130 and 200 million barrels of oil, basing the calculations on a recovery rate of between 25 and 35 per cent.
The well is expected to take 60 days to drill to a target depth of 2,500 metres.
The spokesman said the company was planning to find its partner by mid-January because that is when its contract with the Maltese government expires.
If no partner is found, the company would have to re-negotiate a contract extension.
“We are excited about the prospects of offshore Malta area four and look forward to progressing the first exploration well with a new strategic partner, thereby enabling us to actively pursue further exploration of the licence with the drill bit,” said Mediterranean Oil and Gas chief executive, Bill Higgs.