Pantheon Resources PLC (AIM:PANR, OTCQX:PTHRF) chief executive Jay Cheatham highlighted that the company’s three core objectives were successfully achieved by its re-entry of the Alkaid-2 well in Alaska and a subsequent flow test of the Shelf Margin Deltaic B (SMD-B) horizon.
The testing is now completed and the company told investors the results have validated the well’s revised frac design.
Additionally, the operation gathered a representative fluid sample and determined the initial reservoir pressure.
According to Pantheon, the programme showed a notable improvement in frac efficiency, with the revised design achieving 50% efficiency, up from 20% in prior work.
It successfully demonstrated producible oil from the SMD horizon in the Ahpun field, which is comprised of both the shallower SMD formation and the previously tested deeper Alkaid ZOI, the company said.
"This re-entry operation has provided validation of our development plans for Ahpun and, in due course, Kodiak, by proving the efficiency achieved with our next iteration of the optimum frac design,” Cheatham said in a statement.
“We have achieved the three core objectives we set for this operation and are now focused on the next steps in our plan to bring these 100% owned resources into production, benefitting from the advantages of our location right next to the Dalton Highway and the TAPS line."
Pantheon can now move into the preparation of a field development process for the Ahpun field development.
The project could target final investment decision by the end of 2025, with production following by early 2026. The project has an estimated cost to first production of US$120 million which the company expects to fund through debt or equivalent sources.
It said today that it will provide further updates on its financing activities which will be designed to minimise equity or other value dilution for existing investors.
David Hobbs, Pantheon executive chairman, commented: “Gathering the last few data elements for our development planning allows us to move forward at full speed towards bringing Ahpun on stream in 2026 with Kodiak to follow.
“We estimate that we have surpassed the 40% frac efficiency upon which our development plan was predicated and will aim to achieve substantial further improvements during the early stages of development."