Jersey Oil & Gas takes operatorship of licence P2170

Jersey Oil & Gas has completed the transaction to acquire operatorship of, and a 70% working interest in, licence P2170, containing blocks 20/5b and 21/1d, from Equinor UK, it announced on Wednesday.

The AIM-traded firm first flagged the potential acquisition on 27 January.

It said consideration consisted of two milestone payments, and a royalty based on volumes produced from the Verbier Upper Jurassic reservoir oil discovery.

The acquisition, which was not subject to upfront cash payments, would provide Jersey with an opportunity to create “significant” value through potentially developing the Verbier discovery as part of the Greater Buchan Area hub, the board explained.

It said licence P2170 also benefited from multiple material exploration prospects, that had high value potential through tie-backs to the proposed new hub.

“I am pleased that Jersey Oil & Gas has completed this important step to acquire an additional interest and operatorship in the Verbier discovery together with material exploration upside to facilitate our plan to develop Verbier as part of our Greater Buchan Area development,” said chief executive officer Andrew Benitz.

“We continue to make solid progress on concept select for the Greater Buchan Area and work closely with contractors, other area stakeholders and the OGA on this important project.”

At 1019 BST, shares in Jersey Oil & Gas were up 23.31% at 82p.