Tullow Oil has extended its North Sea oil interests with the purchase of three exploration licences from BP for £2.7 million.
The licences cover various equity interests in five blocks in the Southern Gas Basin, due south of the Thames field production complex in which Tullow has the largest equity interest.
Two of the blocks contain the Horne gas discovery which was made in 1992. Test show the Horne gasfield has a capacity of 55 million cubic feet per day.
Tullow will seek to undertake an early development of Horne, together with the nearby Wren gas discovery in which Tullow already has a 40 per cent interest.