TIDMSOLO
RNS Number : 7167Z
Solo Oil Plc
19 December 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Embargoed until 7 am 19 December 2017
SOLO OIL PLC
("Solo" or the "Company")
Update Horse Hill, Weald Basin, UK
Solo Oil plc (AIM: SOLO), the natural resources investment
company focused on acquiring and developing a diverse global
non-operated portfolio of strategic oil and gas assets, today notes
that Horse Hill Development Limited ("HHDL"), the operator of the
Horse Hill oil discovery in the Weald Basin where Solo holds a 6.5%
working interest, has released an update on the plans for further
development.
HHDL's release, as set out by UK Oil and Gas Investments plc, is
as follows:
Highlights:
-- 150-day production flow-test and new drilling programme set
to commence in late winter 2017/18
-- Programme aims to confirm commerciality of Portland and
Kimmeridge oil discoveries and gear-up for first permanent oil
production targeted for early 2019.
-- Drilling of HH-2 appraisal well as future producer to
directly follow flow testing programme
-- Permanent production consent application underway, submission
to SCC expected in spring 2018
-- Swift and successful eviction of protesters completed at Horse Hill site on 02 December
UK Oil & Gas Investments PLC (London AIM: UKOG) announces
that it has been advised by Horse Hill Developments Ltd ("HHDL"),
the operator of the Horse Hill-1 ("HH-1") oil discovery, in which
the Company holds a 32.435% interest, that key contracts and the
requisite funding commitments from all participants are in place to
undertake the production flow testing and drilling campaign
approved by Surrey County Council ("SCC") in October 2017. The 2018
programme is planned to commence directly upon the discharge of
SCC's pre-commencement planning conditions, expected by the end of
winter 2017/18. Environment Agency approval for the full programme
was granted in September 2017.
Horse Hill Oil Discovery
The HH-1 Portland sandstone and Kimmeridge Limestone oil
discoveries lie within onshore Weald Basin licences PEDL137 and
PEDL246 covering an area of 55 square miles (143 km(2) ) north of
Gatwick Airport. As previously reported on 21 March 2016, HH-1 flow
tested at a significant commercial aggregate stable dry oil rate of
1,688 barrels of oil per day ("bopd") from the Portland, Kimmeridge
Limestone 3 ("KL3") and Kimmeridge Limestone 4 ("KL4") reservoir
horizons.
2018 Horse Hill Flow Test Programme
Following a short period of civil works to upgrade site
facilities, a 150-day production testing programme focused upon the
Portland, KL3 and KL4 reservoirs will commence. As commercially
viable initial flow rates were established by the 2016 flow tests,
the 2018 testing programme's goal is to confirm that HH-1's
reservoirs are each connected to a commercially viable oil volume,
thus enabling a declaration of commerciality to be made.
The Portland, KL3 and KL4 flow tests, each planned for around
30-40 days duration, will consist of a sequence of stabilised
steady state flow and shut in periods to establish the oil in place
("OIP") directly connected to the well. A short maximum flow-rate
test will also be included for each reservoir. If time permits, a
further short-term test of a deeper untested Kimmeridge reservoir
may be undertaken.
Testing will commence with the Portland reservoir, which in the
Company's opinion, given the 323 bopd stable pumped rate achieved
in 2016 and the 32 million barrels most likely OIP calculated by
Xodus in 2017, is a strong candidate for commercial viability.
Subject to a successful test, a Portland commercial declaration is
expected to be made by mid-2018. A Kimmeridge commerciality
declaration would follow programme completion and analysis of
reservoir engineering data.
2018 Horse Hill Drilling Programme
Subject to a successful testing outcome in the Kimmeridge and
Portland, the HH-2 well is planned as a future Portland producer,
with an expected spud towards the end of summer 2018. Drilling
plans include optionality to deepen HH-2 into the Kimmeridge to
gather core and image log data, together with a possible northwards
deviation to access the adjacent oil bearing Collendean Farm fault
block's significant Portland OIP.
The HH-1z Kimmeridge side-track spud is now planned for 2019
following construction of a Kimmeridge reservoir model utilising
HH-1 Kimmeridge production data, reservoir data from the Company's
100% owned Broadford Bridge-1 & 1z Kimmeridge discovery and any
future HH-2 Kimmeridge core.
Production Planning Application
To achieve its goal of stable, long-term Horse Hill oil
production by spring 2019, HHDL now plans to submit a further
production planning application to SCC in late spring 2018. This
application will seek consent to produce oil initially from HH-1
& 1z, and HH-2, together with further production wells in a
second contingent drilling phase.
Horse Hill Eviction
On Saturday 2 December 2017, a 42-person team, including High
Court bailiffs and the UK's pre-eminent specialist protester
removal contractor, successfully removed around 20 activists who
had illegally occupied part of the Horse Hill site since Thursday
30 November 2017. These activists intimidated, jostled and verbally
abused HHDL's security staff and caused criminal damage during
their illegal occupation.
An increased security presence will now remain on the site until
completion of the 2018 programme.
The Company is rigorously pursuing all available legal means to
seek recourse for this and any future events that prevent or
obstruct its right to conduct its lawful business.
For further information:
Solo Oil plc
Neil Ritson / Dan Maling +44 (0) 20 3794 9230
Beaumont Cornish Limited
Nominated Adviser and
Joint Broker
Roland Cornish / Rosalind
Abrahams +44 (0) 20 7628 3396
Shore Capital
Joint Broker
Jerry Keen
Beaufort Securities
Joint Broker
Jon Belliss
Buchanan (PR) +44 (0) 20 7408 4090
Ben Romney / Chris +44 (0) 20 7382 8300
Judd +44 (0) 20 7466 5000
Glossary:
core or coring a drilling technique to capture or
"cut" a continuous cylinder-shaped
core of undamaged in-situ rock
--------------- ---------------------------------------------
discovery a discovery is a petroleum accumulation
for which one or several exploratory
wells have established through testing,
sampling and/or logging the existence
of a significant quantity of potentially
moveable hydrocarbons
--------------- ---------------------------------------------
flow test a test period where hydrocarbons are
flowed to surface through a test separator.
Key measured parameters are oil and
gas flow rates, downhole pressure
and surface pressure. The overall
objective is to identify the well's
capacity to produce oil at a commercial
flow rate and to recover oil in commercial
quantities or volumes
--------------- ---------------------------------------------
limestone a sedimentary rock predominantly composed
of calcite (a crystalline mineral
form of calcium carbonate) of organic,
chemical or detrital origin. Minor
amounts of dolomite, chert and clay
are common in limestones. Chalk is
a form of fine-grained limestone,
being made of the remains of calcareous
planktonic algae called coccoliths.
The Kimmeridge Limestones are comprised
of fine grained coccoliths, fine grained
calcium carbonate mud, clay minerals,
together with dark grey organic matter
--------------- ---------------------------------------------
oil in place the quantity of oil or petroleum that
(OIP) is estimated to exist originally in
naturally occurring accumulations
before any extraction or production
--------------- ---------------------------------------------
sandstone a clastic sedimentary rock whose grains
are predominantly sand-sized. The
term is commonly used to describe
a consolidated and cemented rock made
predominantly of quartz grains
--------------- ---------------------------------------------
side-track re-entry of a well from the well's
surface location with drilling equipment
for deviating from the existing well
bore to achieve production or well
data from an alternative zone or bottom
hole location
--------------- ---------------------------------------------
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
MSCEANAPFSAXFFF
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 19, 2017 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)
Scirocco Energy (LSE:SCIR)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Scirocco Energy (LSE:SCIR)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024