Likely in late May 2019, ONE-Dyas BV acquired a 40% share (and the operatorship) in the B20008/71 contract offshore North Sea from Wintershall Dea. The new rightholding group in the tract is ONE-Dyas, Neptune Energy (40%) and Discover Exploration Ltd (20%).  The 2,660 sq km permit is located on shelf along the border between the Netherlands and Germany (western limit) and along 11-nautical mile limit of the territorial waters (southern limit). The area covers wholly offshore quadrants H/15, H/17 and H18, as well as partly quadrants H/16, L/1, L/2, L/3, L/4 and L/5. In a geological sense, the tract is situated in the Northwest German Basin.  Discover Exploration is acting in the area through its subsidiary Hansa Hydrocarbons Ltd.  Background Information  The B20008/71 contract was granted to Wintershall Holding on 1 June 2006 for an initial three-year term. Working obligations remained undisclosed. The block was subsequently extended until 31 May 2012, and then for three-year periods in 2015 and 2018. In May 2018, the contract was extended until 31 May 2021.  On 2 March 2009, London-based Hansa Hydrocarbons announced it was intending to join the group active in the B20008/71 block. According to the terms of the farm-out agreement, Hansa would earn a 20% interest in the licence in exchange for funding the appraisal well on the 1975 L1-Alpha discovery. According to the disclosure, Wintershall was to remain as the operator of the block (40%), acting with the partners Hansa (20%) and GdF SUEZ.  During the period January-early March 2010, WIHO-led group drilled L1-02 appraisal well along the western limit of the B20008/71 permit. The well was drilled to the final depth of 4,320 m in the Upper Carboniferous (Westphalian) series and was abandoned without testing.  As announced on 29 March 2018, Hansa Hydrocarbons Ltd, privately-owned upstream oil and gas company with exploration, appraisal and development assets offshore Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands, was acquired by Discover Exploration Ltd from the UK. Discover Exploration purchased the entire issued share capital of Hansa Hydrocarbons and through the acquisition acquired a 50% share of the Geldsackplate contract and a 20% interest in the nearby license B20008/71 (H and L offshore quadrants).  The B20008/71 area is adjacent to the Geldsackplate licence, where the partners ONE-Dyas and Discover Exploration have interpreted an extension of a petroleum play they are exploring in the border area with the Netherlands (basal Lower Permian (Rotliegend) play proven by the 2017 Ruby gas discovery) and within the Geldsackplate licence in Germany.
Germany, Geldsackplate