Episode 169 | European Exploration | MCF Energy

Europe’s offshore oil exploration is well documented, but have you ever heard about drilling on the continent itself?

Vancouver-based MCF Energy hopes to play a role in the resurgence of onshore oil & gas exploration. The company currently has operations planned in Germany and Austria, to begin in late 2023.

It used to not be like this. The world’s “supermajors” drilled on European lands until the late 80s when oil prices sank. That left an opening for Russia to supply their neighbors to the west. When the war in Ukraine broke out in 2022, relations became less neighborly.

“Of course now their relationship is out the window and Europe is left with very few energy producers throughout the continent,” says MCF’s CEO Jim Hill.

Jim says MCF evaluated more than 20 projects around Europe before settling on these two countries. These include:

• Reudnitz, in Friedland, Germany, southeast of Berlin
• The Lech/Lech East concessions in southwest Bavaria. Part of this site was first drilled by Mobil in 1983.
• The Welchau anticline in Austria, covering over 100 km

I was curious about the support infrastructure in these areas. Take any major oil and gas region. There’s an entire industry of support companies, engineers, and roughnecks. But in Austria? Jim says there are support services and even drilling rigs available. In fact, MCF bought a company, Genexco Gmbh, in 2023.

The other concern I had was the regulatory environment. Will Germany and Austria allow fracking if that’s what the wells require?

“Our understanding will come with the drilling of these wells,” says Jim, who doesn’t believe these wells will require fracking, and admits that fracking may still be a tough pill to swallow. Jim served as Vice President of BNK Petroleum in the early 2010s, when Poland flirted with fracking. Jim says they fracked several wells and even discovered natural gas in some parts. However, governments restrictions and the regulatory environment made operations unworkable economically.

Flash forward ten years, and the situation looks much different. If these wells “hit,” Jim expects much more drilling. They are also exploring options in other parts of Europe as well.

Jim’s message is unequivocal. “This is the best time to be in Europe—right now.”

Useful Links:

• MCF Energy - Official Site