UK Oil & Gas Investments PLC (LON:UKOG) chief executive Stephen Sanderson reckons the aggregate flow of oil measured in the Horse Hill programme would be equivalent to 8.5% of the UK’s total daily production from onshore fields.
Sanderson’s comments came as the final flow tests of the programme have now completed.
In the final test, the Portland reservoir flowed at a stable dry rate of 323 barrels of oil per day, which is double the rate seen in the prior Portland test.
In this second test a larger pump was used to extract the oil, and even at maximum pump capacity there were no indications of depletion. It is believed that the use of a higher capacity pump would probably yield higher rates still.
This final Portland test result means that the three phase testing programme has measured flow rates of 1,688 barrels of oil per day in aggregate across the Horse Hill discovery’s three separate test zones.
The stakeholders in Horse Hill - which include UKOG and Solo Oil - are now applying for regulatory permissions to conduct extended production testing on all three zones that have been tested to date.
LGO Energy PLC (LON:LGO) expects to earn 10% more per barrel on the oil it produces in Trinidad after lower royalty rates were introduced by state oil company Petrotrin.
From now on, and on oil sold at prices under US$50 per barrel, the royalty rate on most barrels is being cut by 40% to below 10%.
The new royalties, which will apply to LGO's Goudron Field, came into effect on March 16 and will apply retrospectively to sales made from February 1.
Elsewhere, the 2016 work programme for Shoats Creek, in which Northcote Energy Ltd (LON:NCT) and Red Rock Resources PLC (LON:RRR) have interests, has been finalised.
The agreed work programme on the field, which is located in Louisiana, USA, is focused on growing production and adding high-grade potential locations.
Red Rock's net share of costs associated with these activities is around $495,132, which will be funded from the proceeds of disposals, cash flows, and cash resources.
Northcote's net share of costs associated with these activities has been estimated at $500,000, but including the impact of carried interests brings the net cash requirement down to around $300,000, all of which will be funded from existing cash resources.
Closer to home, Cluff Natural Resources PLC (LON:CLNR) has stuck a deal to acquire stakes of up to 25% in three North Sea exploration projects operated by Parkmead Group.
It is acquiring the assets for a nominal £1 fee for each project.
Two of the three projects are ‘effectively drill ready’, according to Cluff, which also highlighted that they’re estimated to contain an aggregate of 400mln barrels of recoverable resource potential.
Further afield, Green Dragon Gas Ltd (LON:GDG) has notched up an eighth year of gas production from its first coal bed methane well in China.
The well, GSS-008, was the first to be drilled using its LiFaBriC completion technology.
The well came on line on 21 March 2008 and in an unbroken run with no decline in production has so far produced a cumulative 1.28 Bcf of gas.