Falklands oil explorers stick to drilling campaign despite weak oil

LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Falkland Islands (LSE: FKL.L - news) oil explorers will start their 2015 drilling campaign in March, two companies involved said on Monday, shaking off concerns about low oil prices and sending their shares higher.

Drilling for oil and gas in the resource-rich Falkland Islands by London-listed companies remains controversial as a decades-long row between Britain and Argentina over the sovereignty of the islands has not been resolved.

Rockhopper and Falkland Oil and Gas (Other OTC: FLKOF - news) said their shared drilling rig was being moved from West Africa to start work in the first week of March.

The drilling, which also involves Premier Oil (LSE: PMO.L - news) and Noble Energy (NYSE: NBL - news) , will tap six wells over a roughly nine-month period using a rig contracted from Cyprus-based Ocean Rig UDW.

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in the companies rose on the news, with Falkland Oil up 11.6 percent by 0831 GMT, Rockhopper up 5.8 percent and Premier Oil gaining 3.5 percent.

The first well to be drilled is the Zebedee in the North Falkland Basin, in which Falkland Oil owns a 40 percent stake and Premier Oil a 36 percent stake.

Oil companies across the globe have started slashing investments as oil prices down more than 50 percent since last June eat into earnings and budgets.

In November, Premier Oil announced it was scaling back its Sea 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)