LONDON (Alliance News) - The companies with deals in place to take stakes in Horse Hill Developments Ltd, the operator of the Horse Hill conventional oil prospect near Gatwick airport in Surrey, Wednesday saw their shares rise strongly after they said drilling has begun on the Horse Hill-1 well.
In separate statements, Regency Mines PLC, Solo Oil PLC, Alba Mineral Resources PLC, UK Oil & Gs Investments PLC and Stellar Resources PLC said the Horse Hill-1 well is planned to be drilled to a total depth of 2,646 metres and is designed to test for a number of conventional stacked oil targets in the Jurassic period rock layers, as well as a deeper conventional gas target in the Triassic period layers.
Horse Hill Developments has a 65% operating interest in the Horse Hill prospect, which was first drilled some 50 years ago and then abandoned until interest in drilling for oil and gas onshore UK was reignited a few years ago. Magellan Petroleum Corp owns the other 35% of the prospect.
Junior oil companies are lining up to take interests in the project. UK Oil and gas Investments PLC has an agreement to own a direct 20% interest in Horse Hill Developments, and would own another 2.4% interest by virtue of its 6% ownership in Angus Energy Ltd, which currently owns 40% of Horse Hilol Developments. Solo Oil PLC and Stellar Resources PLC both have agreements to own a direct 10% interest each and Regency Mines PLC and Alba Mineral Resources both have agreements to own a direct 5% interest each.
"The risk-reward on the Horse Hill-1 well is great on the oil alone, as we test a number of conventional oil formations, but the well will also test for potential conventional gas in the deeper Triassic formations which, if discovered, might be of still greater significance," Regency Chairman Andrew Bell said in that company's statement.
Alba Mineral Resources shares were up 9.0% to 0.845 pence per share early Wednesday, while Solo Oil was up 7.0% to 0.380 pence, Regency Mines was up 5.0% to 0.315 pence, Stellar Resources was up 2.7% to 0.770 pence, and UK Oil and Gas was up 2.4% to 1.28 pence per share.
By Joshua Warner; joshuawarner@alliancenews.com; @JoshAlliance
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