Mediterranean oil and Gas, which holds a licence for oil exploration in Maltese waters, has signed a service order with AGR Well Management for the provision of drilling engineering and rig procurement support.

MOG in a company statement said it is continuing its preparations for the Hagar Qim 1 well offshore Malta in the final quarter of the year.

Chief executive Bill Higgs said: "We are continuing to prepare for the drilling of Hagar Qim 1 in late 2013 and we are pleased to be working with AGR on this important phase of the project.

“AGR has a proven track record of providing drilling support services to operators conducting exploration drilling activities.”

Hagar Qim will be drilled in Area Four, south of Malta.

Earlier this year, Mediterranean Oil and Gas was granted a one year extension to the first exploration phase of its Production Sharing Contract for Malta Offshore Area 4.

It is in the process of entering in a shareholding arrangement with Genel Energy for the project.