Cairn plugs and abandons another well

28th Sep 2011 07:28

Oil giant Cairn Energy's Greenland drilling campaign continues to disappoint as it has plugged and abandoned another well.The Delta-1 exploration well, drilled by the Leiv Eiriksson semi-submersible drilling rig, in the Napariaq Block in the West Disko area did not encounter any hydrocarbon shows.The Leiv Eiriksson rig will move south shortly and will start operations to re-enter the AT7-1 well in the Atammik block. This well was temporarily suspended to allow the Leiv Eiriksson to drill the Delta-1 well to optimise the drilling time in the West Disko area.Meanwhile, the Ocean Rig Corcovado has moved 597km south from the Eqqua Block, to the Atammik Block, and has commenced drilling the AT2-1 well.The latest drilling result represents another setback in the company's gamble in finding oil off the coast of Greenland. As well as being a public relations problem for the company, with environmental groups such as Greenpeace attempting to disrupt the drilling programme, the company has yet to hit the jackpot in its drilling. The shares are down almost 36% overthe last year in a sector which has risen 3% over the same period.--jh