Orcadian Energy, a British developer of oil and gas assets, has entered into an internal partnership agreement with an undisclosed partner to develop its North Sea Farm-in Deal licence.

The agreement includes Orcadian's authorization of the Earlham discovery in the southern part of the North Sea, in addition to the Clover site. The agreement also includes the mysterious partner acquiring a share in part or all of the licence, with Orcadian retaining the task of operator until the stage of evaluating the Earlham discovery is reached.

At a later stage, the partner is assigned the task of operating, especially with regard to preparing the field development plan and financing the Earlham and Orwell projects.

The partner will be responsible for the operation, including preparing the field development plan and financing the Earlham and Orwell projects.

The partner is committed to covering the costs of the work program in the license, in addition to any potential expenses until the start of gas production.

For his part, Steve Brown, CEO of Orcadian Energy, expressed his happiness with this strategic agreement, stressing “the company’s commitment to developing the Earlham discovery in a sustainable manner.”

Brown also revealed that Orcadian obtained a loan from the partner as part of the agreement, which will contribute to repaying the company's debts owed to the energy giant Shell.

The value of the loan is estimated at $1.4 million, but Orcadian will not receive it directly from the partner, but rather will receive it through a subsidiary of its company.

If the initial non-binding agreement fails, Orcadian will be required to pay interest on the loan at a rate of 6%, and provide guarantees for the partner’s share in the pilot project amounting to 18.75%.

As the agreement develops into a final binding agreement, both parties have until December 31, 2024 to complete all required documents, with the possibility of withdrawing before next June 13.