The wait for the start of Cairn Energy 's (CNE) high-impact, frontier exploration drill program is almost over. In its half-year report, the established oil and gas explorer said it expects to spud the first of many wells, Prospect A, offshore Morocco, by the end of September. The Cajun Express drill rig is reportedly en route to the site as the company prepares to embark on a 12-month drilling bonanza.
The Prospect A well will be followed by another well in Morocco in the first quarter of 2014, two proposed wells offshore Senegal in the first half of 2014, the Spanish Point appraisal well offshore Ireland in the second quarter of 2014, and potentially further drilling in Greenland and the UK in the second half of next year (subject to a joint-venture decision).
In the meantime, Cairn has been adding to - and rationalising - its rapidly growing portfolio of assets. In the UK and Norway, Cairn sold a non-core interest in the Mariner field and used part of the proceeds to acquire licences near the recent Skarfjell oil discovery. It also farmed into licences offshore Mauritania while bringing in ConocoPhillips as a partner in Senegal - allowing it to add a second high-impact well to the drill program there.
The company remains well capitalised, with $1.5bn (£967m) in net cash as of 30 June.
