EnCore Oil plc has entered into a farm-out agreement with Wintershall Noordzee B.V. (“Wintershall”) under which Wintershall will acquire a 30 per cent. interest in southern North Sea Blocks 43/15a and 43/20a from EnCore and will assume operatorship of the Bennett prospect.

Under the terms of the farm-out agreement, Wintershall will secure a 30 per cent. interest in Blocks 43/15a and 43/20a by payment of a cash sum and contributing on a promoted basis to the cost of drilling an exploration well on the Bennett prospect. It is expected that a well will be drilled on Bennett prospect in 2008.

This agreement is subject to the usual regulatory consents, including consent from the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.

Alan Booth, EnCore’s Chief Executive Officer, said, “We are pleased to be entering into this new partnership with Wintershall, an established operator in the North Sea. We look forward to drilling the Bennett prospect, which we believe to be one of the high impact wells in our drilling programme. We have also entered into a non-binding Letter of Intent to farm out an additional equity interest in the licence to an undisclosed third party, and negotiations are at an advanced stage.”

Tags: EnCore Oil plc, Wintershall