Ukog29 Jun 2018 12:04
Drilling Commences at 100% Owned Broadford Bridge-1 Kimmeridge Exploration Well
PEDL234 Licence, Weald Basin, UK
UK Oil & Gas Investments PLC (London AIM and NEX: UKOG) announces that drilling operations on its 100% interest Broadford Bridge-1 ("BB-1") Kimmeridge Limestone exploration well commenced on schedule at 1700 hrs on Monday 29 May. The well will test a mirror image geological look-alike to the Company's Horse Hill oil discovery, which, as previously reported in March 2016, flowed oil at a record stable aggregate rate of 1365 barrels of oil per day from two naturally fractured Kimmeridge Limestone rock units (KL3 and KL4).
BB-1 is located near Billingshurst, West Sussex, within the 300 km² PEDL234 licence, in which the Company has a 100% interest via its ownership of the licence's operator, Kimmeridge Oil & Gas Limited.
Drilling, using tried, trusted and safe conventional techniques, commenced with a 17½-inch diameter vertical hole within the 300-metre thick Weald Clay rock unit, which directly underlies the well site. Drilling operations will continue until the well reaches a total drilled depth of around 1900 metres within the Jurassic Corallian sandstone, a secondary reservoir objective which underlies the Kimmeridge.
The BB-1 well, an exploration step-out, is designed to penetrate the four target Kimmeridge Limestone units (KL1-KL4), at an inclination of around 50 degrees to vertical and at approximately 90 degrees to the predicted orientation of open natural fractures within the Kimmeridge. The planned overall horizontal deviation of the well is approximately 1 km to the north-northeast of the well site. The Kimmeridge Limestones are expected to be encountered at a drilled depth of approximately 1300-1700 metres, which equates to around 950 -1200 metres vertically below surface.
Even though there are no potable drinking water sources underlying or surrounding the BB-1 site, it is the Company's policy to ensure that UKOG's drilling has zero-impact on any groundwater or potable water sources. Consequently, BB-1 uses a British made, zero-hazard, non-toxic, water-based drilling fluid to lubricate the drill-bit. This drilling fluid (or "mud") is made from biodegradable, modified natural plant starches.
All regulatory permissions to drill the well, from the Oil and Gas Authority ("OGA"), the Environment Agency ("EA"), West Sussex County Council and the Health and Safety Executive, are in place and available on UKOG's website. In the event of a discovery, final consents to test the well after the drilling phase are expected from the EA and OGA in due course.