LONDON, May 1 (Reuters) – Fastnet Oil & Gas has given itself three years to find oil and sell up, in a move it hopes will replicate the success of fellow Irish explorer, Cove Energy.
“If we’re still around in three years, we’ve failed,” Chairman Cathal Friel told Reuters on Wednesday.
Fastnet, which has secured exploration licences in Morocco and Ireland, is an offshoot of Cove, which was bought by Thailand’s PTT for 1.2 billion pound ($1.9 billion) in a takeover battle with Royal Dutch Shell last year over its stake in huge new east African gas finds.
Oil majors on the hunt for new exploration possibilities in Africa are now faced with the choice of either splashing out on new concessions or buying into operations that gambled on big finds.
Fastnet, which entered London’s junior market in June, has adopted the Cove model – securing an early licence, doing the geological homework, and inviting partners to pay for the drilling rig.
Fastnet is based in what was Cove’s office in Dublin. John Craven, the architect of Cove’s success, is a shareholder who acts as an advisor, while two former Cove directors also sit on its executive board.
“We think Morocco is a company maker. On the second well, the ‘for sale’ flag ges up,” Friel, who owns a 6.8 percent stake in the 66 million pound company, said.
The moment of truth will come later this year or early in 2014, when drilling off the coast of Morocco is slated to start.
The company, already partnered with larger U.S. firm Kosmos Energy on its Moroccan licence, is looking for another partner to take a share of its 18.75 percent stake in the licence and pay for two wells.
Friel declined to name the parties involved.
