London, 23 July (Argus) — UK-listed independent Rockhopper Exploration began drilling today the first exploration well on its Ernest prospect, offshore the Falkland islands (Islas Malvinas) in the south Atlantic. The company expects the drilling to take around 30 days.

This is the second of Rockhopper's closely-watched prospects in the North Falklands basin. Its Sea Lion prospect has an estimated 242mn bl of recoverable reserves.

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