News | Wednesday, 20 January 2010

Heritage Oil to drill off Malta

Charlot Zahra

Heritage Oil, which has a licence for oil exploration in two areas off Malta, had announced it was going to take its oil exploration activity in Malta “up a notch and begin drilling later this year”, with hopes of a potentially lucrative 500 million barrel find within Maltese territorial waters.
It was specialist energy website Energypedia that broke the news on Sunday. Heritage Oil also gave this year’s chance of success between 20 and 25 per cent.
Energypedia warned that the announcement, however, “could be misleading to a certain extent since its contract with the Maltese Government obliges it to begin drilling at least one well by December 2010”.
In a conference call with investors last week, Heritage confirmed it was to begin drilling in Malta as well as in Pakistan in 2010.
A drilling schedule posted on the company’s web site showed it had earmarked this year’s fourth quarter for drilling activity offshore Malta.
Heritage Oil had signed an agreement for the exploration and production of oil and offshore gas in two areas (Areas 2 and 7) off Malta, totalling 18,999 square kilometres, in December 2007.
Area 2 is located some 80 kilometres and Area 7 some 140 kilometres from the South-Eastern Maltese coast in waters ranging in depth from 200 to 400 metres.

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