Cairn cheers Greenland find

** FILE ** This is a July 19, 2007 file photo of an iceberg as it melts off Ammassalik Island in Eastern Greenland. Greenland voters overwhelmingly approved a plan to seek more autonomy from Denmark and take advantage of oil reserves that may lie off the glacial island, official results showed Wednesday Nov. 26, 2008. The Arctic island's election commission said 76 percent of voters supported the referendum, which sets new rules on splitting future oil revenue with Denmark. The vote was seen as a key step toward independence for the semiautonomous territory, which relies on Danish subsidies. (AP Photo/John McConnico)

Greenland find: Cairn has encounterd hydrocarbons in the first well to be drilled in the Arctic territory in a decade

JOHN MCCONNICO

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By Staff & news wires

 24 August 2010 07:30 GMT

UK explorer Cairn Energy said it had struck gas in Greenland with the first well to be drilled in the Arctic territory in a decade.

Cairn said the discovery of gas in thin sands in the T8-1 well, being drilled in the Baffin Bay basin, was indicative of an active hydrocarbon system.

While the news could be a disappointment for investors who had hoped for an oil find, Cairn said its offshore well had not yet reached target depth, holding out the prospect that oil may yet be found.

Cairn did not say how much gas it found. Large volumes would be required to make any find economic to develop. Given Greenland's distance from a major gas market,…

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