---ADDS SHARE PRICE & BACKGROUND---
88 Energy (LON:88E) said it is confident of securing the final two permits for its first Alaskan onshore well after passing a significant milestone.
The authorities of America’s most northerly state signed off the lease plan of operations for the drilling of Icewine-1 – meaning it has now entered the exploration phase.
88 Energy now only needs to get formal approval for its oil discharge prevention and contingency plan and a permit to drill, with application for the latter expected to be submitted later today (Sep 17).
Managing director Dave Wall said: "The plan of operations is the centrepiece of the permitting process and its approval is another key milestone for the company ahead of the imminent drilling of Icewine-1, which remains on track for mid October spud.”
Last week 88 Energy said revealed that a rig team has now been signed and the programme is on track to kick-off in October.
The experience they bring to the project, over a decade working on the Alaska’s Slope area, is a “significant bonus”, Wall told investors.
Icewine-1 will be drilled on a gravel pad, next to a highway just 39 miles from Deadhorse in Prudhoe Bay, which is where the rig is currently.
It is “logistically simpler" than most of the wells drilled by the team in recent times, Wall added.
Last month the company secure a US$50m financing deal with Bank of America as well as raising US$8.6mln from investors.
BoA backed Project Icewine after completing detailed due diligence.
As well as being highly prospective and near new and existing fields, the project is also eligible for cash rebates – up to 85% - under an Alaskan government scheme.
Icewine 1 is targeting an unconventional play, known as HRZ.
At the same time third-party drilling targeting conventional plays - a programme of three or four wells on adjacent acreage in early 2016 - may also provide positives for both the company and its investors.
The shares, up 41%, rose a further 4% after the announcement to change hands for 0.683p.