Cairn Energy shares rise on Skarfjell well upgrade

Cairn Energy's shares advanced Tuesday as the oil and gas company upgraded its resources at the Skarfjell appraisal well in the Norwegian North Sea.

The well's gross resource range, following discovery last April, was between 60 millions of barrels (mmbbls) and 160mmbbls.

Following completion of the appraisal well, the company has revised its gross resource range to between 74 mmbbls to 235 mmbbls.

"Skarfjell is one of the largest discoveries in the Norwegian Sector of the North Sea in recent years," said Chief Executive Simon Thomson.

"The combination of very good reservoir and large volumes will allow this discovery to be progressed towards development, with a number of commercially attractive options possible including a standalone facility or a hub development incorporating surrounding undeveloped discoveries."

Cairn has a 20% interest in the project. Wintershall Norge is the operator with a 35% holding, while Bayerngas Norge owns 20%, Edison International Norway Branch has a 15% stake and RWE Dea Norge AS has 10%.

RD