Shares in Trapoil, the North Sea oil and gas explorer, fell almost 8 per cent in early trading today after the firm said Centrica had decided not to drill an appraisal well on the Inverewe prospect.
Trapoil currently has a 20 per cent working interest in the prospect, formerly called Kew, but that will rise to 80 per cent under the terms of its farm-in agreement with Centrica, which will also pay the company a £1.5 million “walk away” fee.
As a result of Centrica’s decision, Trapoil is in talks with its other partner in the prospect, JX Nippon Exploration and Production, and said it believes that the Japanese company remains supportive of drilling an appraisal well, subject to the involvement of a new partner to replace Centrica as operator by 9 January.
A spokesman said: “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.”
Shares in the company were down around 7.6 per cent at 18.25p in early trading following the announcement.