Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas (AIM:ECO), the AIM and TSX-V listed explorer focused on the Atlantic Margins, said strategic partner Navitas Petroleum has released new resource estimates for licences in the Falkland Islands and South Africa.
Navitas' quarterly report, published on 24 August, put the first drilling target on PL001 in the North Falkland Basin at 640 million barrels of oil on a 2U prospective resource basis. Eco's share of that target would be approximately 225 million barrels in a drilling success case, once its acquisition of JHI Associates completes.
Navitas plans to drill a multi-target exploration well on PL001, subject to completing its own acquisition of the licence, with the Sea Lion Project development campaign due to begin at the start of 2027.
A success case could see the target tied back to the existing Sea Lion platform, and Navitas flagged additional prospects on PL001 not yet reflected in resource reports.
In South Africa, Block 1 CBK, subject to Navitas' farm-in announced in May and pending government approval, is now estimated to hold unrisked prospective resources of approximately 4.5 trillion cubic feet of gas and more than 3,600 million barrels of oil equivalent, based on existing seismic data.
The joint venture partners are awaiting regulatory approvals, including Navitas' Section 11 application, currently under review.
"The resource estimate released by Navitas for the first drilling target on PL001 further underline the quality and potential of the asset and reinforce our decision to increase Eco's exposure to the licence," said Gil Holzman, Eco Atlantic's president and chief executive.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
Navitas Petroleum's updated resource estimates for two of Eco Atlantic's key partnered assets—640 million barrels (2U) for the first PL001 drilling target in the Falkland Islands, of which Eco will own approximately 225 million barrels post-JHI acquisition, and 4.5 trillion cubic feet of gas plus 3,600 million barrels of oil equivalent for South Africa's Block 1 CBK—provide quantified upside on assets where Eco has already committed to increasing exposure. The figures validate Eco's strategy of partnering with an operator (Navitas) to fund exploration while retaining meaningful working interests, contingent on regulatory approvals now in motion.
- Navitas Petroleum's drilling plan for PL001, scheduled to begin in early 2027 with potential tie-back to the existing Sea Lion platform, creates a near-term catalyst for Eco's Falkland Islands exposure and defines a timeline for de-risking the 225 million barrel target.
Eco will receive a US$4.0 million cash payment on regulatory closure of the Block 1 CBK farm-in, and the JHI acquisition completion will unlock its full 225 million barrel stake in PL001's first target. Both transactions remain subject to regulatory approvals; the South Africa block's Section 11 application is under review, and the Falkland Islands transaction is expected to close 30 September 2026.
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