The Wellington-1 spud date has been brought forward to the middle of this year to capture an available drilling slot within the very tight offshore UK rig market, Sunshine said.

“Drilling costs offshore UK in particular, are projected to increase as available rigs become scarce with extreme competition for drilling slots, as a result of the continuing strong global oil price,” Sunshine managing director Tony Gilby said.

Sunshine has partnered with UK-based Hurricane Exploration to drill the Wellington prospect, among its other offshore blocks located west of the Shetlands area.

The joint venture has contracted the Bredford Dolphin rig to drill Wellington, which is described as 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, with current mapping showing the reservoir extends about 20 square kilometres, according to Sunshine.

The company said it was also in discussions with a number of parties regarding selective farm-outs and non-core asset sales.

According to Gilby, under the new share placement, several new financial institutions and sophisticated investors have committed to subscribe for about 26.3 million shares at A37c each.

In addition, Sunshine’s largest shareholder has indicated it might also take-up about 7.7 million shares.

The placement is being undertaken in two tranches. The first $8.8 million tranche, comprising about 23.5 million shares, will be settled next Tuesday, April 18. The second $4 million tranche, or 10.7 million shares, is subject to shareholder approval at a general meeting on May 30.