LONDON (Alliance News) - Doriemus PLC Monday said it has increased its interest in the company that operates the Horse Hill oil field in the Weald Basin in southeast England to 10%, from 7.5%, just months before test drilling starts on the field.
In a statement, Doriemus said it it increased its stake in Horse Hill Development Ltd, which is a special purpose company that has a 65% interest in the Horse Hill oil field and is the operator of the site.
Doriemus is hoping that the field will prove lucrative. It has described Horse Hill as highly prospective.
The first test well at the site is expected to be completed by the end of August. Prospective
recoverable resources have been estimated at a mean 87 million barrels of oil, while an additional mean 164 billion cubic feet of recoverable prospective resources have been proposed within the deeper Triassic gas play.
"The board sees the spudding of the Horse Hill-1 well over the next few months as an exciting development for the company and for the overall prospectivity and potential of the Weald Basin as a whole," Doriemus Chairman Donald Strang said in a statement.
"The board has therefore decided, prior to spudding the well, to increase its interest in the operator, Horse Hill Development Limited to 10%," he added.
Doriemus also has a 20% participating interest in the nearby Lidsey oil field in West Sussex and has a deal to buy an initial 10% interest in the Brockham oil field in Surrey, which is on the northern flank of the Weald Basin.
Doriemus shares were up 4.6% at 0.183 pence midday Monday.
By Steve McGrath; stevemcgrath@alliancenews.com; @SteveMcGrath1
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