The well was drilled to a total depth of 2176m.

Drilled to a total depth of 2176m, the well was fully funded by two farminees, Gas Plus Italia SpA and Nexen Petroleum. Following the farm-in, Elixir retains a 13.125% working interest in block 15/13b.

“While we are disappointed that Guinea did not come up trumps, the remaining deeper prospectivity in Block 15/13b is unaffected,” managing director Russell Langusch said.

“We shall be working hard to advance drilling activities on several of our other UKCS licences.”

Thanks to Elixir’s “conservative approach” to financing its North Sea exploration activities, Langusch said the company had sufficient cash reserves to cover its existing work commitments and likely drilling programs.

“The high potential Leopard prospect is partway farmed-out and marketing of the nearby Panther prospect is well underway,” he said.

“We are also aggressively pursuing other opportunities to add development/production to our asset portfolio.”