When Michelangelo Merisi (also known as Caravaggio) left continental Italy for Malta in 1607 to escape the ramifications of a lethal sword fight, little did he know what a profound impact he would leave on the little Mediterranean island. For Michelangelo himself the impact was questionable at best – apart from painting some of his most profound works there (such as the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist), he became a Maltese Knight only to be banished from Malta a year later for being a “foul and rotten member”.

In brief, Caravaggio’s one-year sojourn has only perpetuated all the problems the artist had been suffering from. Yet for the island nation of Malta, Caravaggio has become a showcase to spearhead all its remarkable achievements. No wonder one of the Mediterranean’s most ambitious oil-drilling projects assumed Caravaggio’s name. Caravaggio is a heretofore undrilled prospect offshore Malta, lying in water depths of 350 metres within Area 07. According to preliminary assessments based on seismic surveys the main target for Caravaggio is a Lower Eocene carbonate reef and a secondary reef below that, the aggregate reserves of which might be 1 Bboe.

The operator of Area 07, Heritage Oil, was awarded the rights to it in December 2007 along with Area 02 and was supposed to conduct at least 1000km seismic surveying (the blocks cover 8778km2 and 9190km2 respectively) and drill one exploration well. The latter objective could not be met, however now Heritage has some solid 5000km of seismic surveying data, reportedly attesting to the presence of several prospects to be drilled.

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Source: Oil Price