Cairn Energy : Godalen well, Norway

The enclosed announcement has been reported by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) regarding PL842, containing the Godalen prospect, in which Cairn has a 40% working interest through Capricorn Norge AS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cairn.

Enquiries:

Analysts/Investors
David Nisbet, Corporate Affairs
Tel: [phone]

Media
Linda Bain/Christian Goodbody, Corporate Affairs
Tel: [phone]

Patrick Handley/David Litterick, Brunswick Group LLP
Tel: [phone]

Dry well near the Norne field in the Norwegian Sea - 6608/11-9

Capricorn Norge AS, operator of production licence 842, has completed the drilling of wildcat well 6608/11-9.

The well was drilled about 13 kilometres northeast of the Norne field and 200 kilometres west of Sandnessjøen.

The primary exploration target for the well was to prove petroleum in Upper Jurassic reservoir rocks (the Rogn formation). The secondary exploration target for the well was to examine reservoir development in Upper Jurassic reservoir rocks (intra Melke formation sandstones).

The Rogn formation was not present in the primary target. In the secondary target, 118 metres with alternating layers of clay stone, siltstone and sandstone was encountered in the Melke formation, where about 40 metres was sandstone with moderate reservoir quality.

There are no traces of petroleum in the well. The well is dry.

Data has been collected. This is the first exploration well in production licence 842. The licence was awarded in APA 2015.

Well 6608/11-9 was drilled to a vertical depth of 1676 metres below the sea surface and was terminated in the Not formation in the Middle Jurassic.

Water depth at the site is 378 metres. The well will now be permanently plugged and abandoned.

Well 6608/11-9 was drilled by the Transocean Arctic drilling facility, which will now drill production wells on the Dvalin field in production licence 435 in the Norwegian Sea, where DEA Norge AS is the operator.