It's one of the classic problems faced by the oil and gas industry. A company will know hydrocarbons are present in their licence area, the question is, is there enough of the resource to make it commercially viable?
Faroe Petroleum has found two of its prospects in the Norwegian sea, "T-Rex" and "Bolan", just won't cut it.
Both sites were drilled by Faroe's partner on the project, 70% owner Maersk Oil; both returned oil "but not in commercial quantities".
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And there's the rub.
Faroe's stock had fallen 9% by 11:13 on the news, with Graham Stewart, the Chief Executive saying he was "disappointed the reservoir intervals were not as thick as we had hoped for".
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