Sunshine and its UK-based partner Hurricane Exploration have entered an agreement with Peak Well Management to act as project manager and use the Bredford Dolphin rig to drill the Wellington Prospect, formerly known as Prospect 2.

With Hurricane to act as operator, the 50:50 joint venture was awarded nine North Sea blocks in September last year during the 23rd UK Seaward Licensing Round.

Later that month, Sunshine announced the JV would use a new seismic interpretation technique focused on unconventional reservoirs in regions of favourable structural stress, allowing identification of very large and previously overlooked prospects.

In another report, Sunshine said the Wellington prospect was a conventional target with a potentially large hydrocarbon trap, as recognised from existing seismic data. A previous exploration well drilled nearby showed promising oil and gas indications. Current mapping showed the extent of the reservoir was about 20 square kilometres, said Sunshine.

The nine blocks acquired by the companies are: 202/04, 202/05, 204/30, 205/21a, 205/22, 205/23, 205/24, 205/26b and 205/2. The two main prospects range in size from 650 million barrels of oil to more than 1.5 billion barrels, according to Sunshine.