UK oil juniors were boosted on Tuesday as the latest green-light came for a well targeting the Kimmeridge play - which was high profile success at the Horse Hill project, near Gatwick airport.
Angus Energy Plc (LON:ANGS) and Doriemus PLC (LON:DOR) have received Environmental Agency approval for the Lidsey-X2 well at the Lidsey oil field, located near Bognor Regis in the southern England.
The partners now seek approval for the project from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Oil & Gas Authority (OGA).
Lidsey-X2 is planned to target the upper crest of the producing Great Oolite reservoir, as well as pass through the Kimmeridge.
It is planned that the Kimmeridge layers will be electronically logged, and drill cuttings will be sampled and compared to the findings of Angus’s successful Brockham-X4Z well.
“Receiving approval for the Lidsey-X2 production well from the Environmental Agency is another milestone in delivering our business plan of providing low cost, low geological risk, long term conventional oil production,” said Jonathan Tidswell-Pretorius, Angus chairman.
Angus has a 50% stake in the Lidsey field, while Doriemus holds a 20% stake (and an option to take up another 10%).
Doriemus chairman David Lenigas, in a separate statement, said: “Two more approvals remaining before we can look at drilling in this very important onshore UK oil production well, which will not only access the productive Great Oolite reservoir, the source of the historic Lidsey oil production for a number of decades, but will also drill the very important Kimmeridge formation in the southern part of the UK’s Weald Basin area.”