1 Mar 2016 07:00
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, 7:00 am 1 March 2016
SOLO OIL PLC
("Solo" or the "Company")
Further Update on Horse Hill-1 Flow Test
Well Flows 900 barrels per day from Upper Kimmeridge Limestone
Solo today announces that Horse Hill Developments Limited has informed the Company that water-free 40-degree API, light, sweet oil has flowed naturally to surface at a stabilised rate in excess of 900 barrels per day. This production in the Horse Hill-1 (HH-1) well comes from an 88-foot perforated zone within the Upper Kimmeridge limestone interval at a depth of approximately 840 metres below ground level.
Flow of dry oil, restricted using a 1-inch choke, commenced with a rod pump at around 13:45 hrs yesterday at an initial instantaneous rate in excess of 700 barrels per day ("bopd"). At approximately 14:00 hrs the well started flowing naturally and the pump was stopped. Natural flow rose to over 900 bopd at 14:15 hrs. The flow of dry oil then stabilised from 14:15 to approximately 18:30 hrs still at a rate in excess of 900 bopd.
As a consequence of flow being initialised via rod pump, the initial natural flow rates stated above were further restricted by the pump rods within the 2 7/8-inch production tubing. The well was shut in at approximately 18:30 hrs to remove the pump rods. The well was then reopened and natural flow recommenced at 22:30 hrs in order to obtain a further stabilised flow period and reservoir engineering data.
As previously announced, on completion of this Upper Kimmeridge test, operations will move to the shallower Portland sandstone oil reservoir at approximately 615 metres below ground level.
Horse Hill Discovery Well and Licence
The original exploration drilling phase of the HH-1 discovery well was 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. Solo owns a 6.5% interest in PEDL137 and the Horse Hill discovery.
Neil Ritson, Solo's Chairman commented:
"This result, coming shortly after the successful test of the Lower Kimmeridge limestone, is a clear and unequivocal demonstration of the potential of this exciting new play. Two zones independently testing at high natural flow rates clearly indicates that oil can be extracted at high rates even from vertical wells without significant stimulation. The results obtained to date are truly ground breaking and move the Kimmeridge limestone play in the Weald Basin firmly in the direction of commercial production."
Qualified Person's Statement:
The information contained in this announcement has been reviewed and approved by Neil Ritson, Chairman and Director of Solo Oil plc who has over 38 years of relevant experience in the energy sector. Mr. Ritson is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, an Active Member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and is a Fellow of the Geological Society of London.
For further information:
Solo Oil plc Neil Ritson Fergus Jenkins | +44 (0) 20 3794 9230 |
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Shore Capital Joint Broker Jerry Keen (Corporate Broker)
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Cassiopeia Services LLP Investor Relations Stefania Barbaglio |
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Glossary:
API | American Petroleum Institute |
bopd | barrels of oil per day |
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 |
dry oil | crude oil produced with no appreciable quantity of water |
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 |
sandstone | a clastic sedimentary rock whose grains are predominantly sand-sized. The term is commonly used to imply consolidated sand or a rock made of predominantly quartz sand |