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Core analysis points to large shale play at Icewine says 88

Last updated: 09:57 15 Feb 2016 GMT, First published: 07:57 15 Feb 2016 GMT

Icewine
Rock formations and fracking possibilities are similar to the Haynesville and Marcellus shale plays

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More analysis of drill cores from its Icewine-1 well in Alaska has indicated a large new resource similar to other US shale formations, 88Energy (LON:88E) said today.

Icewine-1 was drilled to 11,600 feet to test the shale opportunity in the HRZ formations.

Rock formations and fracking possibilities are similar to the Haynesville and Marcellus shale plays and the Icewine area may also be a significant new find, 88 said.

Thermal analysis shows the well is in a crossover between the volatile oil and wet gas condensate thermal maturity window with a high liquid to gas ratio.

This low viscosity means higher flow rates, which is key for a commercial discovery.

Extensive mapping of the thermal maturity fairway also indicates that a majority of 88’s Project Icewine acreage lies within this ‘thermal sweetspot’.

An updated resource report is now being compiled incorporating the larger acreage position and results from Icewine-1.

Seismic planning is at an advanced stage with acquisition set  to commence in March.

Dave Wall, 88’s managing director, said the thermal maturity analysis was consistent with the earlier interpretation of drilling mud extracted from HRZ and rock evaluation work.

“The level of accuracy between the pre-drill predictions by our joint venture partner, Burgundy Xploration, and the actual results from the core evaluation is nothing short of astounding,” he added.

Work will now start on extracting the ‘potentially very large resource’ in the HRZ play, he said.

“The HRZ is a new resource play and will not to be without its own unique peculiarities; however, given the size of the potential prize, we are confident that substantial interest will be garnered to support the next phase of the project, which will include the drilling of a horizontal well with a multi-stage fracture stimulation.”

Shares climbed 116% to 2.42p.

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