Rockhopper says latest Malvinas well dry

Malvinas oil explorer Rockhopper said the latest well in its controversial drilling campaign in the south Atlantic islands has come up dry.

The British company said the 14/10-8 well, designed to look for further oil at its Sea Lion complex, as well as at its Casper and Kermit prospects, found 123 metres of oil but the sands were also water-logged.

"The thickness of the reservoir encountered in the well has increased the company's confidence that good quality reservoir is likely to be present in other relatively low amplitude areas within the Sea Lion main complex," Rockhopper said in a statement today.

The company increased its resource estimates for the Sea Lion complex on the back of this new data, rising by 19 percent to 1.3 billion barrels in the mid-case.

"Whilst the 14/10-8 result is disappointing, the increase in the in-place resource in the main structure is positive for the commercial development of the field," said analysts at Evolution Securities.