Cairn vows to carry on Arctic search

Oil and gas explorer Cairn Energy has vowed to press on with its controversial drilling campaign off the coast of Greenland despite failing to find oil in two more wells.

The Edinburgh-based firm saw shares fall as it wrapped up this year’s programme empty handed, following the closure of three other wells earlier this year.

Cairn chief executive Simon Thomson vowed to press on with the drilling in 2012 despite the setbacks, while environmental campaigner Greenpeace accused Cairn of “squandering a fortune drilling one dry hole after another”.

Cairn, which launched its campaign in Greenland four years ago, shut its Delta-1 and Gamma-1 wells in September while its first well to be drilled this year, LF7-1, was plugged in August.

Shares in the firm have lost around 40 per cent of their value since the start of the year as well after well has failed to deliver the goods.