LONDON (Alliance News) - UK Oil & Gas PLC on Thursday said the operator of the Portland sandstone oil discovery in Weald Basin, UK, believes the site to be commercially viable after testing.
UKOG has a 72% stake in Horse Hill Developments, the operator, while Alba Mineral Resources PLC, who also noted the announcement on Thursday, holds 18%.
Previous interested parties include Solo Oil PLC, Gunsynd PLC, and Primorus Investments PLC.
Oil production is now targeted from Portland during 2019, with the first horizontal production well set to be HH-2. This well has a targeted production rate of 720 to 1,080 barrels of oil per day.
The current plan sees three production wells on the Portland field, and two further pressure support wells.
UKOG Chief Executive Stephen Sanderson commented: "Horse Hill Development's declaration of Portland commercial viability is a significant milestone for the company."
"It transforms Horse Hill from solely exploration into a fully-fledged field development with a full-scale oil production start-up targeted in 2019."
He added: "We also eagerly anticipate the possibility of combined long-term production from both the Portland and Kimmeridge, an exciting and potentially transformational prospect for Horse Hill and the company."
Shares in UK Oil & Gas were trading 4.9% higher at 1.99 pence each. Alba Mineral shares were down 2.3% at 0.43p each.
Alba Mineral Resources (ALBA)
Uk Oil & Gas (UKOG)