Rockhopper Exploration PLC is an

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

and

gas Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma). A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), or ...

exploration Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

company headquartered in

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. It owns offshore exploration and production licences in the North Falkland Basin in the waters north of the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...

. Rockhopper is listed on the

Alternative Investment Market AIM (formerly the Alternative Investment Market) is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange that was launched on 19 June 1995 as a replacement to the previous Unlisted Securities Market (USM) that had been in operation since 1980. It allows ...

of the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

History

Rockhopper was founded in 2004 to explore for oil and gas in the Falkland Islands. It received a listing on the AIM market in 2005. On 16 April 2010, Rockhopper commenced drilling of its first exploration well, 14/10-B (subsequently renamed 14/10-2) on its Sea Lion prospect using the ''Ocean Guardian'' semi-submersible drilling rig. On 6 May 2010 the company announced it had made the first oil discovery in the Falkland Islands in well 14/10-2. An update of the first appraisal drill (well 14/10-4) was released in March 2011 indicating a significant reservoir package with a downhole mini drill stem test flowing oil at better rates than in a September 2010 flow test on well 14/10-2. Confidence in the commerciality of the Sea Lion discovery was increased by this first appraisal. On 27 June 2011, the company announced that its second Sea Lion appraisal well (14/10-5) flowed at commercially viable rates. In July 2012, Rockhopper announced that it had entered into a conditional farm out agreement with

Premier Oil Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

plc whereby Premier will acquire 60% of Rockhopper's interests in its North Falkland Basin licences in exchange for an upfront cash payment of $231m, a contribution of $722m to Rockhopper's share of the Sea Lion development costs and a net exploration carry of $48m. Rockhopper will be fully funded on its share of the Sea Lion development through the contribution to costs and standby financing provided by Premier. First oil from Sea Lion is expected in 2020.

Licences

Rockhopper holds interests in production licences PL023, PL024, PL032 and PL033 covering approximately 3800 km². In 2005 it farmed into licences PL003 and PL004 operated by Desire Petroleum plc. In 2011, Rockhopper increased its share of PL004b from 7.5% to 60.0% and in PL004c from 7.5% to 25.0%. Licence PL004b contains an extension to the Sea Lion field as well as the Beverley, Casper and Casper South discoveries.

References

{{Authority control Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange Economy of the Falkland Islands Oil and gas companies of the United Kingdom

History

Licences

See also

References