UK Oil & Gas Investments PLC (LON:UKOG) investors now anticipate the completion of well testing operations at the explorer’s wholly-owned Broadford Bridge well in southern England.
In a brief stock market statement the company said it expects the completion of testing during February.
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In the most recent Broadford Bridge operational update, back during the Christmas period, UKOG had guided that the well testing operations would resume early in the New Year.
On December 27, the onshore UK oil firm revealed that testing of one of the well’s primary targets suggested the zone was “not economically viable” - the KL3 zone flowed at 300 barrels of flow per day initially, before tailing off to 30-50 bfpd.
“In the company's view this horizon, whilst containing moveable hydrocarbons, appears to be unproductive due to low reservoir permeability,” it said at that time.
That disappointment followed a similarly lacklustre measure of the KL1 zone where its deemed that economic rates of production can only be possible via ‘reservoir stimulation’ outside the scope of the company’s regulatory permissions (in other words by fracking or some other form of enhanced oil recovery).
READ: UK Oil & Gas plunges on Broadford Bridge flow test disappointment
Next, the plan was to next test only the top portion (about 100ft) of the KL3 zone, which is seen to be similar to a successful zone in the nearby Horse Hill well, along with tests in the KL4 and KL5 zones. Another, deeper zone located beneath the KL1 was also potential on the schedule, subject to the other results.
The Broadford Bridge well could be so far described as a technical success, or in other words it has been a good fact finding programme for the wider exploration of the Kimmeridge oil play.
It has unearthed significant hydrocarbon bearing zones and has helped de-risk the geology of the play. But, in terms of commerciality, the pending test results will be pivotal for the standalone Broadford Bridge project to which UKOG is solely exposed.
Plainly, the AIM-share remains one to watch for oil investors as the pending well testing results surface.