UK Oil & Gas PLC (AIM:UKOG) told investors it has now installed three shallow groundwater monitoring boreholes at the Horse Hill site, as part of a formation water-reinjection project.
The company, in a statement, said the water-injection programme seeks to improve the field's net earnings by approximately £250,000 per year, by eliminating the substantive costs of tankering and disposing produced saline formation water.
It will also improve the field’s overall carbon footprint as transportation to "distant third-party sites" will no longer be necessary.
"The new boreholes are a key step towards delivering HH-2z produced water reinjection, ultimately designed to help reduce operating costs by some £250,000 per year and improve the field's oil recovery,” said UKOG chief executive Stephen Sanderson.
“The work is fully in keeping with current environmental standards and practices and demonstrates UKOG's responsible attitude towards ensuring the area beneath the site remains as well protected as possible."