EDINBURGH, Scotland, May 24 (UPI) -- Cairn Energy said Tuesday that Greenland has the necessary geological conditions for a successful exploration campaign.
After leaving the coast of Greenland empty-handed in 2010, Cairn energy announced in January that it was preparing to return to drill four exploration wells this year.
The government of Greenland approved the location of seven potential exploration drill sites for Cairn.
"The group's strong financial position and entrepreneurial exploration focus has allowed it to build a strategic and leading early entry position in the frontier offshore basins of Greenland, which Cairn believes has the necessary geological ingredients for exploration success," Cairn Deputy Chief Executive Mike Watts said in a statement.
Cairn said its four-well campaign for 2011 targets various structures in Greenland that have a mean prospective resource potential of 3.2 million barrels of oil equivalent. The company said it plans to invest around $600 million during the drilling campaign.
Oil and gas companies are flocking to the region as melting sea ice exposes vast oil and gas reserves.
Greenland police arrested four activists with Greenpeace in September after severe winds and 18-foot waves led authorities to launch a rescue attempt at a Cairn oil rig in arctic waters.
