Lansdowne Oil & Gas offloads stake in Celtic Sea licence

19th Nov 2014 16:03

Explorer Lansdowne Oil & Gas has offloaded a majority stake in an oil licence off the coast of southern Ireland.The group, which explores in the North Celtic Sea Basin, said it had entered a farm-in agreement with PSE Kinsale Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Petronas, under which Kinsale will acquire an 80% interest and run licence SEL 4/07.Kinsale will also fund the costs of drilling a well on the Midleton prospect and finance Lansdowne's share of the costs of any testing programme up to $2.5m net.The completion of the farm-in agreement remains subject to Irish government approval.Lansdowne chief executive Steve Boldy said: "Kinsale Energy's team has a wealth of operating experience and has been producing gas safely from the Kinsale gas field and its satellites since 1978. Securing a farm-in partner for Midleton is a critical first step to delivering our objective of a multi-well programme in the Celtic Sea."Lansdowne was advised by Macquarie Capital (Europe) on the deal. Shares rose 1.6p or 14.9% to 12.5p at 16:15 in London.