The parent company of Rathlin Energy, which is exploring for gas in East Yorkshire, is selling all its assets in Canada to focus on the UK.
The Calgary-based Connaught Oil & Gas Ltd has oil wells and acreage in Alberta which it has valued at $4.22m.
Sayer Energy Advisors, which is handling the sale, said
“The company [Connaught] is focused on developing its prospects in the United Kingdom and it intends to deploy the capital raised from the sale of the Canadian assets to its UK operations.”
Last month, Rathlin Energy, which is wholly owned by Connaught, announced it was applying to extend the planning permission at its West Newton A site in Holderness, north of Hull. It is seeking another three years which would allow it to drill an additional well. At the time, Rathlin described the results of the first well at West Newton A as “very encouraging”.
Rathlin is currently decommissioning another site in East Yorkshire at Crawberry Hill and has permission for a second site at West Newton with up to two exploration wells. Last month, the chairman, David Montagu-Smith said Rathlin was withdrawing from its licence in County Antrim in Northern Ireland. Details
There’s nothing about the Canadian sale on Connaught’s website. But Sayer Energy Advisors said Connaught currently operates six producing oil wells across the Del Bonita and Carmangay areas and there is potential for another 18. Sayer Energy Advisors said:
“As the Properties represent Connaught’s only Canadian assets, the Company would prefer to sell the Properties in one transaction.”
Based on Connaught’s website, the only other company oil and gas interest is the right to drill in Montana in the US.
Categories: Industry
DRILL OR DROP? 
Goodness it’s Friday 13th……
I do wonder if the Canadian company now focussing on UK have read this report? http://mondediplo.com/2013/03/09gaz
which also refers to a NYT report (along with many others if you scroll right list on site) :-
”A New York Times investigation first unearthed major cracks in the “shale boom” narrative in June 2011,
finding that state geologists, industry lawyers and market analysts “privately” questioned “whether
companies are intentionally, and even illegally, overstating the productivity of their wells and the size of
their reserves” (2). According to the paper, “the gas may not be as easy and cheap to extract from shale
formations deep underground as the companies are saying, according to hundreds of industry e-mails
and internal documents and an analysis of data from thousands of wells.”
Le Monde link above says much much more……………………..