Angus Energy Plc (LON:ANGS) has given investors an update on its operation onshore UK at the Brockham field where it is about to start the re-entry of an existing well bore.
The company, in a concise statement, said that work to upgrade the existing well’s infrastructure (production bungs) are now complete.
In the next few days it expects to start the re-entry, it then anticipates to complete and case the well in around two to three days.
“The group will update the market once the well is complete and then make a further announcement when it is in a position to fully evaluate the results of the geological evaluation assessment, expected to be 3 weeks thereafter,” the company said.
Angus is one of the onshore UK oilers invested in Brockham, a project that could replicate success seen at nearby Horse Hill.
It is the operator at Brockham with a 55% interest in the field, alongside partners Doriemus and Alba Minerals which own 10% and 15% respectively.
Kimmeridge has potential
The current operation is a re-entry and sidetrack to a hole drilled by BP (LON:BP.) in 1987 that will first go into the Portland sandstone, host to a known oil play that is already generating 35 barrels a day. It will then push on into the Kimmeridge, before perforating a horizon called the Coralian.
The Kimmeridge has the potential to really move the needle, for this was the source for all the excitement at nearby Horse Hill, which flowed at a better than expected 1,688 barrels a day.
Horse Hill and Brockham are thought to share many geological similarities.
The results will be eagerly anticipated from three discrete layers within the Kimmeridge.
What the experts suspect is the Kimmeridge at Horse Hill is naturally fractured, allowing oil to accumulate, so that when accessed, it flows easily to surface under its own steam.
If this model holds up then there would be no need for fracking to release this hydrocarbon bounty.
“All the original BP wells at Brockham that passed through the Kimmeridge and Corallian formations were drilled without properly assessing their hydrocarbon potential,” said Angus chairman Jonathan Tidswell-Pretorius.
“[We] look forward to update the market with the results of the assessment in due course."
The same geology as Horse Hill?
There is no guarantee that Brockham will enjoy identical geology to Horse Hill – but there is a suspicion it does; well more than that.
It is a hunch based on drilling carried out by BP, which used to own the Brockham licence.
One of Angus’ field partners, a firm called Doriemus, commissioned the consultant Nutech to make a comparative analysis of the Horse Hill-1 well and Brockham-1, sunk by BP in the 1980s.
Angus believes the maturity and fracture analysis of the two have striking similarities.
Re-entering the Portland should increase output by 150 barrels a day.
If the Kimmeridge plays out in the same way it did at Horse Hill then you might add a further 1,4000 barrels to production. That’s a big deal.