Cairn Energy finds “reservoir quality sands” off Greenland

The Ocean Rig Corcovado, drilling about 180 kilometres offshore Nuuk, has drilled down 4,847 metres, having encountered “minor hydrocarbon shows.” (PHOTO COURTESY OF CAIRN ENERGY)

Things are looking up for Cairn Energy, the Scottish energy company which has been drilling for oil off the coast of western Greenland.

In a Nov. 8 update the company said the Leiv Eiriksson rig found “reservoir quality sands” — which could signal the presence of a marketable amount of oil — after drilling down in 909 metres of water about 200 kilometres from Nuuk.

The company said it found traces of both oil and natural gas in the mud, which was pushed to the surface during the drilling.

Cairn has now started to stiffen the sides of the drill hole to bring up samples of the sand to analyze.

The company will then get a better idea about whether the sand contains oil in large quantities — or possibly just water.

The Ocean Rig Corcovado is also drilling about 180 km offshore Nuuk.

The well has drilled down 4,847 m, having encountered “minor hydrocarbon shows.”

The company’s first three exploration wells drilled in Greenland this year, as part of its five drill program, were found to be dry.

Experts say the Nov. 8 update is the most positive to date — it immediately sent the price of Cairn’s shares up.