UK Oil & Gas Investments PLC (LON:UKOG) traded positively on Thursday afternoon after the UK onshore oiler told investors it had completed a side-track in the recently drilled Broadford Bridge exploration well.
UKOG revealed that the side-track, which will be used for flow testing, has been drilled and cased through an entire reservoir section of 1,480 feet. It runs parallel to the Broadford Bridge well bore, some 200 feet to the south.
READ: UKOG shares rise as investors look forward to Broadford Bridge production test
The company, in a statement highlighted that it has all permissions in place for a comprehensive extended flow test, which will address an aggregate of 926 feet of perforated reservoir sections.
Stephen Sanderson, UKOG chief executive, has explained that the side-track has ensured the integrity of the planned testing programme.
"Although BB-1 drilling and coring results were highly successful, proving our geological concept, it became clear that the duration and difficulty of coring such highly-fractured rocks in an inclined hole put the borehole in a less than optimal condition, ultimately jeopardising Kimmeridge flow-test performance.
“Consequently, using the drilling knowledge gained from BB-1, we have delivered BB-1z, consisting of a fresh, undamaged, 1,480 ft thick, intensely fractured Kimmeridge oil-bearing reservoir in optimal condition for flow testing.”
He added: “The sidetrack, BB-1z, is thus a solid investment in the future of the flagship Broadford Bridge discovery and the wider Kimmeridge play that underlies UKOG's significant licence holdings."