Last checked at 2 Mar 2016 07:00
2 March 2016
ALBA MINERAL RESOURCES PLC
("Alba" or the "Company")
Further Update on Horse Hill-1 Flow Test
Second Zone Continues flowing Oil at a Rate of 838 Barrels Per Day
Following the announcement on 1 March 2016, Alba Mineral Resources plc (AIM: ALBA) announces that Horse Hill Developments Limited ("HHDL") has informed the Company that the well resumed flowing 100% dry oil from the Upper Kimmeridge Limestone, through a one-inch choke, at an instantaneous rate of 1008 barrels per day ("bopd") and continued to flow for a further 7.5 hours from 2234 hrs on 29 February at an average rate of 838 bopd. The well was shut in at 0600 hrs on 1 March for a 12-hour pressure build-up test.
As previously announced, on completion of this Upper Kimmeridge test, operations will move to the shallower Portland sandstone zone at approximately 615 metres below ground level.
Horse Hill-1 Discovery Well and Licence
The exploration drilling phase of the HH-1 discovery well was originally completed at the end of 2014. The well is located within onshore exploration Licence PEDL137, on the northern side of the Weald Basin near Gatwick Airport. Alba owns a 9.75% interest in PEDL137.
Alba's interest in Horse Hill
The HH-1 well is located within onshore exploration Licence PEDL137, on the northern side of the Weald Basin near Gatwick Airport. Alba owns a 15% direct interest in HHDL, a special purpose company that owns a 65% participating interest and operatorship of licence PEDL137 and the adjacent Licence PEDL246 in the UK Weald Basin
Qualified Person's Statement:
Stephen Sanderson, UKOG's Executive Chairman, who has over 35 years of relevant experience in the oil industry, has approved the information contained in this announcement. Mr Sanderson is a Fellow of the Geological Society of London and is an active member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists.
For further information, please contact:
Alba Mineral Resources plc
Michael Nott, CEO +44 20 3696 4616
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP
Avi Robinson / James Caithie +44 20 7148 7900
Dowgate Capital Stockbrokers Limited
Jason Robertson / Neil Badger +44 1293 517744
Glossary
choke | a device incorporating a fixed or variable orifice that is used to control fluid flow rate during testing of an exploratory discovery |
discovery | a discovery is a petroleum accumulation for which one or several exploratory wells have established through testing, sampling and/or logging the existence of a significant quantity of potentially moveable hydrocarbons |
extended flow test | a flow test, as per the permission granted by the Oil and Gas Authority, with an aggregate flow period duration over all zones of greater than 96 hours and up to 90 days maximum. |
flow test | a flow test or well test involves testing a well by flowing hydrocarbons to surface, typically through a test separator. Key measured parameters are oil and gas flow rates, downhole pressure and surface pressure. The overall objective is to identify the well's capacity to produce hydrocarbons at a commercial flow rate |
limestone | a sedimentary rock predominantly composed of calcite (a crystalline mineral form of calcium carbonate) of organic, chemical or detrital origin. Minor amounts of dolomite, chert and clay are common in limestones. Chalk is a form of fine-grained limestone |
Additional Information
Alba holds a 15 per cent interest in Horse Hill Developments Limited, the company which has a 65 per cent participating interest and operatorship of the Horse Hill oil and gas project (licences PEDL 137 and PEDL 246) in the UK Weald Basin.
Alba has the right to earn up to 70 per cent of the Amitsoq Graphite Project in Southern Greenland. In addition, the Company holds a base metal licence in the Republic of Ireland, and has applied for the reissue of a uranium permit in northern Mauritania. The new Mauritanian permit will be on a reduced area, and is centred on known uranium-bearing showings.
Alba continues actively to review and discuss other project opportunities which have value-enhancing potential for the Company whether by acquisition, farm in or joint venture in a range of jurisdictions around the world