United Oil exploration consultant to focus on Jamaica
Published:Friday | May 3, 2024 | 12:07 AM
Oil exploration company United Oil & Gas Limited has enlisted the energy consultant Iman Hill to bolster its engineering capabilities in offshore oil exploration in Jamaica.
The consultancy agreement with Hill, who also serves as a non-executive director, is for three months, initially, extendable or terminable with one month’s notice.
United Oil CEO Brian Larkin said that Hill’s experience regarding farm-outs will greatly benefit the team in the months ahead. Farm-outs relate to finding partners to co-invest in exploration projects.
“Iman is a valued member of our board and I am pleased that she has agreed to provide additional support to the Jamaican project during this pivotal phase as we advance our work program and the farm-out process. Iman’s extensive experience of farm-outs will greatly benefit the team in the months ahead, and I’m excited to collaborate with her,” Larkin said in a market filing on Tuesday.
Hill is an engineer with over 30 years in the oil and gas industry with expertise in the technical and commercial aspects of the petroleum business. She’s knowledgeable on capital projects, commercial negotiations, farm-outs and production operations, and has worked in the Middle East, North Africa, West Africa, South America, the Far East, and the United Kingdom’s North Sea. She has worked with or alongside BP, Shell, BG Group and Dana Gas.
United Oil’s exploration rights cover a 22,400-square-kilometre offshore area known as the Walton-Morant block, with the Colibri area in south Westmoreland deemed the most promising. However, substantive evidence of oil presence requires further investment for ocean floor core sampling.
Hill will operate from United Oil’s Dublin office during her assignment.
While United Oil is optimistic about the commercial viability of oil in Jamaica, convincing drilling companies to invest in offshore operations remains crucial. Plans for oil sample collection and identification of oil seeps from the ocean floor are under way, backed by historical data from previous well drills, along with 2D and 3D surveys.
Despite a past partnership falling through, United Oil remains committed to Jamaican exploration, buoyed by a two-year extension of its exploration permit by the Jamaican government.
In March, United Oil announced the appointment of a country manager, Jamaican geologist Herona Thompson, to spearhead its operations in Jamaica, focusing on upcoming oil exploration endeavours. At the time, the oil exploration company also raised funds on the London Stock Exchange where its shares trade. Roughly half of the recently secured £1 million equity injection will fund the initiatives in Jamaica.
United Oil is exiting Egypt, where it has faced operational challenges, to focus on oil extraction in the UK and exploration in Jamaica.