RNS Number : 2491N
Orcadian Energy PLC
18 June 2025
 

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THE INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS DEEMED BY THE COMPANY TO CONSTITUTE INSIDE INFORMATION AS STIPULATED UNDER THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU) NO. 596/2014 AS IT FORMS PART OF UK DOMESTIC LAW PURSUANT TO THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018, AS AMENDED. UPON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT VIA A REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE, THIS INFORMATION IS CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.

 

18 June 2025

 

Orcadian Energy plc

("Orcadian" or the "Company")

Elke Licence Extension

Orcadian Energy (AIM:ORCA) is pleased to announce that, Phase B of the P2482 licence, which contains the Elke and Narwhal discoveries, has been extended until 14 July 2027.

As announced previously on 15 August 2024, the Elke discovery has net 2C resources of 45 MMbbl and Narwhal has net 2C resources of 9 MMbbl, both as audited by Sproule. The Company has identified a further 53 MMbbl of prospective resources with geological chance of success ranging from 64% to 87%, which have also been supported by the relative Extended Elastic Impedance analysis undertaken by TGS.

TGS has undertaken to shoot 100 sq km of new 3D seismic over P2482 upon approval of the Pilot Field Development plan. This seismic is to be shot during Phase B of the licence and will cover the Narwhal discovery which is currently mapped on 2D seismic only.

Pilot Area Plan

Extension of the licence will enable Orcadian (as Elke Operator) and Ping Petroleum ("Ping") (as Pilot Operator) to explore the optimum area development plan with the North Sea Transition Authority ("NSTA"). Ping continues to progress Pilot development planning work and is working with SNF (a major global supplier of polymer to oil industry) and Heriot-Watt University to optimise the polymer flood approach to Pilot. Orcadian has an 18.75% "carried-to-first-oil" interest in the Pilot development.

Gas opportunities

Orcadian confirms that it is working in partnership with The Independent Power Corporation PLC ("IPC") and The Marine Low Carbon Power Company Limited ("MLCP") to place the ownership of Licence P2680 (Earlham and Orwell), and potentially Licence P2650 (shallow gas prospects), into a corporate joint venture structure to support the plan to deliver carbon free energy from new, offshore balancing power plants to IPC's large energy user customers.  A further announcement on this joint venture is expected in the coming weeks.

Steve Brown CEO of Orcadian Energy plc says:

"We are delighted to have received this licence extension which maximises the probability of us designing an area development plan which optimises the development of all the viscous oil resources in the Pilot area. We believe that Pilot and Elke can form the basis of a new low-emissions hub for the development of the major resources in this area.

"We are also very enthused by the potential to be involved with IPC's project to deliver reliable electrical power from our gas resources, we really believe that the IPC and MLCP projects can demonstrate that abated gas works and is critical to the success of the UK's clean power plan."

 

For further information on the Company please visit the Company's website: https://orcadian.energy

Contact:

Orcadian Energy plc

+ 44 20 7920 3150

Steve Brown, CEO

Alan Hume, CFO


Zeus (Nomad and Joint Broker)

+44 20 3829 5000

Darshan Patel / John Moran (Investment Banking)

Simon Johnson (Corporate Broking)


Novum (Joint Broker)

+44 207 399 9425

Colin Rowbury / Jon Belliss


Tavistock (PR)

+ 44 20 7920 3150

Nick Elwes / Simon Hudson

orcadian@tavistock.co.uk

 

Qualified Person's Statement

Pursuant to the requirements of the AIM Rules and in particular, the AIM Note for Mining and Oil and Gas Companies, Maurice Bamford has reviewed and approved the technical information and resource reporting contained in this announcement.

Maurice has more than 35 years' experience in the oil & gas industry and 3 years in academia. He holds a BSc in Geology from Queens University Belfast and a PhD in Geology from the National University of Ireland. Maurice is a Fellow of the Geological Society, London, and a member of the Geoscience Energy Society of Great Britain. He is Exploration and Geoscience Manager at Orcadian Energy.



 

About Orcadian Energy

Orcadian is a North Sea focused, low emissions, oil and gas exploration and development company. Orcadian may be a small operator, but it is also nimble, and the Directors believe it has grasped opportunities that have eluded some of the much bigger companies. As we strike a balance between Net Zero and a sustainable energy supply, Orcadian intends to play its part to minimise the cost of Net Zero and to deliver reliable energy to the UK.

Orcadian's key asset is the Pilot oilfield. Pilot was discovered by PetroFina in 1989 and has been well appraised. The field has excellent quality reservoir and contains 263MMbbl of a viscous oil ranging in gravity from 17º API in the South of the reservoir to 12º API in the North. In planning the Pilot development, Orcadian has selected polymer flooding and wind power to transform the production of viscous oil into a cleaner and greener process. Polymer significantly reduces fluid handling requirements and hence energy consumption as well as boosting recovery. Ithaca Energy, operator of the Captain field in the Inner Moray Firth, has enjoyed consistent success in applying polymer flood to the highly analogous Captain field. Following the farm-down of Pilot, the project is now under the stewardship of Ping Petroleum UK PLC ("Ping") and is intended to become amongst the lowest carbon emitting oil production facilities in the world.

Ping is progressing a low-emissions, phased, field development plan for Pilot based upon a polymer flood of the reservoir, a Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO) and provision of power from a floating wind turbine or a local wind farm.

Orcadian has an 18.75% fully carried interest in licence P2244 (block 21/27a) and a 100% interest in licence P2482 (blocks 28/2a and 28/3a). Ping is operator of P2244 and the Pilot development project.

Orcadian was awarded three licences in the 33rd round. The Mid-North Sea High licence, P2650, contains shallow gas leads. Orcadian applied in partnership with Triangle Energy, an Australian listed energy company. Orcadian is licence administrator and holds 50% of the licence. The Mid-North Sea High licence covers blocks 29/16, 29/17, 29/18, 29/19, 29/21, 29/22, 29/23, 29/27 and 29/28.

The Fynn licence, P2634, contains a very substantial heavy oil discovery. About 88% of the resource on a best technical case is estimated to lie within the area of the offered licence. Orcadian has a 50% working interest in the Fynn licence which is now operated by Serica. The Fynn licence covers blocks 14/15a, 14/20d and 15/11a.

The SNS licence, P2680, currently 100% but intended to be 50% Orcadian on completion of a proposed transaction, contains the Earlham discovery, a low-calorie gas discovery with 114bcf of methane resources on a P50 basis, the Clover prospect which has P50 prospective resources of 153bcf, and the decommissioned Orwell field which has redevelopment potential, alongside a number of smaller prospects.



 

About Independent Power Corporation PLC

Since 1995 Independent Power Corporation PLC ("IPC") has been a developer, owner and operator of power plants on five continents across the globe. IPC has developed, owned or operated around 10,000 MW of conventional power capacity across a wide range of project types including gas, diesel, wind, biofuels and hydroelectric plants. Thermal plants have included combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plants (including the first in country in Bolivia and South Africa) as well as combined heat and power (CHP) projects and emissions reduction projects in CIS countries.

In recent years, IPC has developed projects in Azerbaijan, Chile, Ghana and the United Kingdom as an independent developer, sponsor and operator of power plants.

Its IPC New World Energy renewable and zero carbon energy subsidiary has in excess of 7.5 GW of offshore wind and BESS battery storage projects in the United Kingdom and Europe.

 

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