Granby Oil and Gas secures rig to drill Watling gas prospect
  by: OilOnline
  Friday, August 11, 2006

Granby Oil and Gas plc has reached agreement with Peak Well Management Limited to utilise the jack up drilling rig Ensco 92 to drill Granby’s Watling Rotliegendes sandstone gas prospect in UKCS block 42/28c. A vessel has also been contracted to conduct the well location site survey.

Granby announced previously that it had signed a Heads of Agreement to farm out UKCS Block 42/28c to Centrica Resources Limited (“Centrica”) and Gas Plus Italiana S.p.A. Under the terms of the previously announced farm out arrangements, Centrica will be operator of the well. The well will be drilled to a depth of approximately three thousand one hundred metres (3,100m) true vertical depth. Drilling operations are expected to begin in late November and will be managed by Peak Well Management Limited on behalf of Centrica.

Block 42/28c was awarded as a promote licence to Granby and TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company UK Ltd in the 23rd Licence Round in September 2005. The Watling prospect was identified in a study undertaken by Granby of open acreage in the southern gas basin of the North Sea. The block is located some 35 km east of Flamborough Head in a water depth of approximately 55m.

Under the farm out arrangements, Centrica and Gas Plus will together fund the full cost of drilling an exploration well on the Watling prospect to earn 50% and 16.67% interests respectively in the 42/28c block. Granby will retain a 22.2% interest in the block and its share of costs will be carried by Centrica and Gas Plus. TGS NOPEC has also farmed out its interest on a similar basis and will retain an 11.1% interest.