LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Falkland Islands oil explorerswill start their 2015 drilling campaign in March, two companiesinvolved said on Monday, shaking off concerns about low oilprices and sending their shares higher.
Drilling for oil and gas in the resource-rich FalklandIslands by London-listed companies remains controversial as adecades-long row between Britain and Argentina over thesovereignty of the islands has not been resolved.
Rockhopper and Falkland Oil and Gas said theirshared drilling rig was being moved from West Africa to startwork in the first week of March.
The drilling, which also involves Premier Oil andNoble Energy, will tap six wells over a roughlynine-month period using a rig contracted from Cyprus-based OceanRig UDW.
Shares in the companies rose on the news, with Falkland Oilup 11.6 percent by 0831 GMT, Rockhopper up 5.8 percent andPremier Oil gaining 3.5 percent.
The first well to be drilled is the Zebedee in the NorthFalkland Basin, in which Falkland Oil owns a 40 percent stakeand Premier Oil a 36 percent stake.
Oil companies across the globe have started slashinginvestments as oil prices down more than 50 percent since lastJune eat into earnings and budgets.
In November, Premier Oil announced it was scaling back itsSea Lion project in the Falklands due to sinking oil prices,halving the amount of money it was prepared to invest. (Reporting by Karolin Schaps; editing by Jason Neely)