Centrica Pulls Plug on Inverewe Well

Oil and gas explorer Trapoil has said today that it is in talks with partner JX Nippon Exploration and Production to replace Centrica as the operator of the Inverewe permit after Centrica declined to drill an appraisal well on the prospect.

Centrica, which holds a 60 per cent stake in the Inverewe prospect (previously known as the Kew prospect), informed its partners in the permit that it had elected not to drill a planned appraisal well, Trapoil said today. Neither it nor Centrica have officially given a reason as to the decision not to drill the well.

Trapoil said today that it has entered into talks with JX Nippon, which holds a 20 per cent stake as does Trapoil, to replace Centrica as a partner on the UK Continental Shelf field and to take over as operator.

Centrica's decision not to drill the well will now see the company paying Trapoil a "walk away" fee of £1.5 million as covered by the terms of a farm-in agreement between the two, which was signed in November of last year.

Trapoil says that it is still confident in the prospect and will continue to develop the field once a suitable partner is located.

"Trapoil remains of the view that Inverewe represents an exciting opportunity and is committed to finding a partner to work alongside it and JX Nippon to exploit the potential that exists within the licence area," it said in a statement today.