Shell is more than halfway through seismic survey work on a newly-acquired North Sea prospect.

The energy giant completed a deal in May to acquire 70% of the Penascola gas prospect from Cluff Natural Resources (CLNR), thought to hold recoverable reserves of 100million barrels of oil equivalent.

As part of that deal, Shell agreed to cover 75% of costs of up to £20.7m on the Southern North Sea site, including acquiring 400 square kilometres of new seismic data.

Partner Cluff, retaining the other 30% stake, has announced the seismic work is now more than halfway completed.

The company shared pictures of Shearwater GeoServices’ Polar Empress vessel, which has been contracted to carry out the work.

Operations on the Pensacola seismic survey are going well, with acquisition over half way through. @CNRplc is looking forward to seeing the intial results of the processing over the next few months. #CLNR #Shell #oilandgas pic.twitter.com/vUgJzidXbB

— CluffNaturalResources (@CNRplc) August 15, 2019

The initial data will be processed in the coming months, with the final results due in the third quarter of next year.

Earlier this week Shell also completed a 50% farm-in to CLNR’s Selense gas prospect, also in the southern region, with around 50 million recoverable barrels.