14 May 2018 13:00
14 May 2018
EGDON RESOURCES PLC
("Egdon" or "the Company")
North Kelsey and Biscathorpe Planning Update
Egdon Resources plc (AIM:EDR) advises that its applications to extend to December 2020, the existing planning permissions to drill conventional exploratory oil wells at both the North Kelsey-1 and Biscathorpe-2 site locations were approved at today's meeting of the Lincolnshire County Council Planning Committee.
Commenting on the decisions, Mark Abbott, Managing Director of Egdon Resources plc, said:
"We are pleased with today's decisions to extend the planning permissions as it enables us to progress our drilling plans at both the North Kelsey and Biscathorpe conventional oil prospects. For Biscathorpe-2, following recent farm-outs on this well, we now look forward to drilling this high potential conventional oil prospect with operations commencing around mid-2018. We hope to conclude further farm-out negotiations for North Kelsey-1 shortly enabling drilling to be targeted around the end of 2018 providing a further material near-term catalyst for Egdon"
For further information please contact:
Egdon Resources plc
Mark Abbott 01256 702 292
Buchanan
Ben Romney, Anna Michniewicz 020 7466 5000
Nominated Adviser and Broker - Cantor Fitzgerald Europe
David Porter (Corporate Finance) 020 7894 7000
Caspar Shand Kydd / Alex Pollen (Sales)
Joint Broker - VSA Capital Limited
Andrew Monk (Corporate Broking) 020 3005 5000
Andrew Raca (Corporate Finance)
Notes to Editors:
Egdon Resources plc (LSE: EDR) is an established UK-based exploration and production company focused on onshore exploration and production in the hydrocarbon-producing basins of the UK.
Egdon holds interests in 43 licences in the UK and has an active programme of exploration, appraisal and development within its portfolio of oil and gas assets. Egdon is an approved operator in the UK.
Egdon was formed in 1997 and listed on AIM in December 2004.
In accordance with the AIM Rules - Note for Mining and Oil and Gas Companies, the information contained in this announcement has been reviewed and signed off by the Managing Director of Egdon Resources plc Mark Abbott, a Geoscientist with over 26 years' experience.
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 ("MAR"). Upon the publication of this announcement via Regulatory Information Service ("RIS"), this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.
North Kelsey
In December 2014 Egdon Resources U.K. Ltd, as operator of the licence area PEDL241, received temporary planning permission from Lincolnshire County Council to drill an exploratory conventional oil well on farmland off Smithfield Road, North Kelsey, Brigg, Lincolnshire. Egdon will shortly submit an application to the Environment Agency for permits to enable the drilling and possible subsequent testing at the North Kelsey site. Egdon plans to drill North Kelsey-1 around the turn of the year subject to obtaining all necessary consents and completing further farm-out discussions.
The PEDL241 Licence Interests are:
Egdon Resources U.K. Limited 80% (Operator)
Union Jack Oil plc 20%
Under the terms of a farm-in agreement with Union Jack Oil plc, Egdon will be carried by Union Jack for 10% of the North Kelsey-1 well costs reducing Egdon's paying costs to 70%.
The North Kelsey Prospect is defined on 3 Dimensional seismic data and has potential for up to four stacked conventional reservoir intervals in the Chatsworth, Beacon Hill, Ravensthorpe and Santon sandstones.
For clarity the operations at the site will not involve the process of hydraulic "fracking" for shale gas or shale oil either now or in the future. This part of Lincolnshire does not have the specific rock-formation types that contain shale gas as confirmed by the British Geological Survey in 2013.
Biscathorpe
In March 2015 Egdon Resources U.K. Ltd, as operator of the licence area PEDL253, received planning permission from Lincolnshire County Council to drill a conventional exploratory oil well on farmland to the west of the hamlet of Biscathorpe, approximately nine kilometres to the west of Louth in Lincolnshire. An Environmental Permit has been issued for the proposed drilling and testing operations at the site.
Recent farm in deals remain subject to approval from the Oil and Gas Authority. On completion, the interests in PEDL253 will become:
Egdon Resources U.K. Limited (Operator) 35.80%
Montrose Industries Limited. 22.20%
Union Jack Oil Plc 22.00%
Humber Oil and Gas Limited 20.00%
The proposals will involve conventional drilling for oil trapped in a sandstone reservoir and for clarity the operations at the site will not either now or in the future involve the process of hydraulic "fracking" for shale-gas or shale-oil. This area of Lincolnshire does not have the specific rock-formation types that contain shale-gas or shale-oil.