RNS18 Feb 2021 23:29
88E to Drill 1.6BN Barrel Project in the Coming Days
Jonathan Jackson 19/02/2021
88 ENERGY
– TYPE SIZE +
88 Energy (ASX:88E) is set to drill the Merlin-1 well in the first week of March.
Merlin-1 targeting 645 million barrels of gross mean prospective resource, over three separate stacked reservoir targets, and is on trend to existing discoveries immediately to the north and south of the project area.
Merlin-1 is part of Project Peregrine, which is home to a total of 1.6 billion barrels of prospects (gross unrisked prospective oil resources).
This project encompasses nearly 200,000 contiguous acres and sits on the North Slope of Alaska - well known for a number of large oil resources.
This could be a company making well for 88E, and it looks like perfect timing to be drilling, given oil is in the spotlight on the back of the US deep freeze energy crisis.
Following a cap raise of $12M at $0.008 per share, adding to its existing cash reserves of AU$14.8M as at 31 Dec 2020, 88E has all the funding in place to drill-test a combined aggregate target of over 1 billion barrels of recoverable oil.
Beyond the imminent Merlin-1 well, a second well, Harrier-1, is due to be drilled in late March/early April subject to scheduling, permitting and related government approvals.
Harrier-1 is targeting a gross mean prospective resource of 417 million barrels.
It's also worth noting that Project Peregrine and the upcoming wells are not everything for 88E.
Most recently, 88E was buoyed by Pantheon Resources PLC’s (AIMStick Out TongueANR) news that it had just completed drilling its Talitha-A well, situated close to the northern border of 88E’s central acreage position at Project Icewine.
Pantheon is scheduled to flow test Talitha-A over multiple horizons after receiving encouraging results.
Several of the prospective horizons in Talitha-A are interpreted to extend into 88 Energy’s acreage. Further positive results are likely to increase the value of Icewine, which is going to help the company proceed with a farm out on that project in the coming months.
With that in mind, let’s look at the immediate catalyst at hand.
The catalyst: 88E set to drill Merlin-1
The drilling of 88E’s Merlin-1 well, part of Project Peregrine, is now just a few weeks away, as the company looks to target the extension of the highly successful Nanushuk play.
88 Energy has a 50% working interest in Project Peregrine, off the back of a recent farm-in, whereby 88E is carried for the first US$10 million (of an estimated US$12.6 million total cost) for the Merlin-1 well.
Merlin-1 is scheduled for spud in early March 2021 and as stated is targeting 645 million barrels of gross mean prospective resource.
Flow testing of Merlin-1 is planned if wireline logging confirms a discovery.
A second well, Harrier-1, is intended to commence immediately following completion of operations at Merlin-1, subject to results from Merlin-1, schedule and permit approvals.