LONDON (Alliance News) - The companies behind the Horse Hill project in southern England Tuesday said flowtesting has continued to test different intervals, with oil flowing from the Horse Hill-1 well at a combined rate of 1,360 barrels a day.
The companies recently released results from the flowtest on the Lower Kimmeridge limestone interval, and on Tuesday said the flowtest on the Upper Kimmeridge limestone interval has seen oil being pumped out at a stabilised rate of 900 barrels of oil per day.
The initial flow rate using a rod pump was 700 barrels of oil per day using a 1 inch choke, but the flow rose and stabilised at a rate in excess of 900 barrels a day without the need for any pumping, the companies said.
The flowtest results Tuesday build on the flowtest on the Lower Kimmeridge interval, which yielded rates of 463 barrels of oil per day on the first day of testing and 456 barrels of oil per day on the second day of testing.
On Tuesday, the companies said the combined average stable rate of production from the two Upper Kimmeridge intervals and the Lower Kimmeridge interval is now in excess of 1,360 barrels of oil per day.
The next area to be tested will be the shallower Portland sandstone zone.
"This test provides unequivocal proof of concept for the company's new Kimmeridge limestone oil play. The two Kimmeridge flow tests have not only shown that moveable oil exists within the Kimmeridge, but more importantly, that it can be extracted at commercial rates even from vertical wells without significant stimulation," said Stephen Sanderson, executive chairman of UK Oil & Gas Investments PLC.
"It should be noted that the planned use of horizontal appraisal and development wells may further significantly enhance production flow rates seen to date," he added.
Once the flowtest on the Portland sandstone has been completed, the venture plans to obtain the required approvals to conduct extended production tests as quickly as possible.
Horse Hill Developments Ltd owns a 65% stake in the Horse Hill prospect and the remaining 35% of the prospect is held by Magellan Petroleum Corp.
UK Oil and Gas Investments holds a 30% stake in Horse Hill Developments, Alba Mineral Resources PLC holds a 15% interest whilst Doriemus PLC, Stellar Resources PLC and Solo Oil PLC each hold 10% stakes in Horse Hill Developments. Regency Mines PLC holds a 5% stake and Evocutis PLC holds a smaller a 2% stake.
UK Oil and Alba Mineral shares were both up 16% on Tuesday morning, whilst Doriemus shares were trading down 4%. Solo Oil shares were up 11%, Stellar shares up 4.1%, Regency shares up 8% and Evocutis shares up 6.3%.
By Joshua Warner; joshuawarner@alliancenews.com; @JoshAlliance
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