Weekly Energy Round-Up: Tullow amp; Total Make Important Discoveries as Cairn Falters

Tullow Oil has announced its Zaedyus exploration well off the coast of French Guiana has struck oil. Tullow Oil said that its objective in drilling the Zaedyus well, which encountered 240 feet of net oil pay in two turbidite fans, was to test whether its productive Jubilee field off the coast of Ghana in West Africa was mirrored on the other side of the Atlantic. A Tullow Oil press release said, “This discovery therefore opens a new hydrocarbon basin within which several neighboring prospects have been mapped.”

Northern Petroleum (LON:NOP) reported this morning that drilling had got under way on the Zaedyus prospect, offshore Guyane. Northern and its partner Wessex Exploration (Plus:WX.P) both hold 1.25% beneficial interests in the Guyane Maritime Permit, which is operated by Tullow Oil (LON:TLW) and boasts Shell Eamp;P and Total Eamp;P as substantial stakeholders. Tullow has previously said that the forthcoming well, GM-ES-1, has the potential to open up a major new oil province in Guyane with a significant number of further prospects and leads already identified.

Shares in AIM listed oil and gas company Wessex Exploration (LON:WSX) fell by 6% to 2.6p this morning on news of delays during the drilling of a well on its acreage offshore Guyane, South America. Wessex holds a 1.25% interest in the Guyane Maritime block, which is operated by Tullow Oil (LON:TLW) and includes Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSA) as a majority stake holder. Tullow has previously described its initial drilling target, the Late Cretaceous Zaedyus prospect, as similar to its hugely successful Jubilee field offshore Ghana.

Wessex Exploration, the oil and gas group chaired by ex Nighthawk Energy (LON:HAWK) boss David Bramhill, began trading on the Alternative Investment Market this morning. The company has moved its trading venue from PLUS Markets where last week it raised £3 million in a placing of 100m shares. Wessex is a hydrocarbon exploration company with its principal projects in offshore Guyane (formerly French Guiana) and Southern England. Although at an early stage in development the management team believes the assets offer potential upside for investors as the company’s work programmes progress.

Tullow Oil (LON:TLW) , the FTSE 100 oil and gas group, reported this morning that its Teak-2 exploration well in the West Cape Three Points licence offshore Ghana had discovered 27 metres of net hydrocarbon bearing Campanian and Turonian reservoirs. The discovery comes on the back of a multi-well exploration programme being undertaken by Tullow and its partners on the licence this year.

Rockhopper (LON:RKH) gave followers of Falklands oil exploration something to cheer about this morning, with news that its latest appraisal well had encountered a significant reservoir package and hydrocarbon column. Rockhopper so far remains the only company in the region to have had any success, having made a substantial discovery on the Sea Lion prospect in the North Falkland Basin in May 2010.The latest well was designed to appraise the Sea Lion main fan reservoir and investigate hydrocarbon column and reservoir distribution.

Oil and gas group Faroe Petroleum (LON:FPM) said this morning that drilling operations were under way on the Fulla exploration prospect, located in the west of Shetland area of the Atlantic margin. This west of Shetlands well, located to the north east of the producing Clair oil field, is targeting potentially oil-bearing Devonian Clair reservoir sands at a depth of 2,100 metres. Faroe has a 50% stake and operatorship of the well which is being drilled by the WilPhoenix semi-submersible drilling rig under contract with Awilco Drilling in a water depth of 120 metres.

Shares in oil and gas group Faroe Petroleum (LON:FPM) fell by nearly 20p to 150.25p during trading this morning on news that its Lagavulin exploration well was set to be plugged and abandoned after failing to find a workable reservoir. While the Chevron-operated well, drilled in acreage to the west of Shetland, did find a working petroleum system, it failed to live up to the successes of Faroe’s Glenlivet and Tornado discoveries made in the region during 2008.