UK Oil & Gas Investment Plc (LON:UKOG) boss Stephen Sanderson said he is looking forward to returning to the Horse Hill site as the onshore oil firm issued a statement confirming that a new programme had received planning consent.
The AIM-quoted company is the leading stakeholder in Horse Hill, owning a 32.43% interest in the project.
On Wednesday, Surrey County Council approved a proposal for a new programme of drilling, including an entirely new well and a sidetrack to an existing well, plus a new long term production test. UKOG in a statement described the council decision as being “overwhelmingly in favour” of the planning application.
Prior to today’s announcement, in September, the company said it envisaged the start of operations during the fourth quarter of this year - albeit, the work will be done by the same team currently operating on the Broadford Bridge well where additional work is expected. In terms of timing, UKOG this afternoon guided that the Horse Hill programme would start as soon as a flow testing programme has been completed at Broadford Bridge.
Gulf Keystone Petroleum Limited (LON:GKP), on Friday, moved to reassure investors with an operations update confirming that its operations at the Shaikan field in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq continue safely and securely.
It comes amid rising tensions and reports of violence in the region, following a disputed Kurdistan independence referendum in which the vast majority of votes were in favour of separation.
GKP, in a statement on Friday, said production at the Shaikan field had averaged 34,525 barrels of oil per day since the beginning of October. “We remain committed to ensuring safe and secure operations in Kurdistan, and we continue to monitor the geopolitical situation closely. Despite the challenges facing the region, we are maintaining stable operations," said Jón Ferrier, GKP chief executive.
A pair of oil AIM-quoted oil firms launched equity funding efforts on Friday.
By midday Friday, President Energy PLC (LON:PPC) closed the books on the equity placing it launched this morning, raising more than it initially proposed. The company confirmed that it is raising US$8.75mln, compared with the initial US$8mln target, issuing 66.65mln new shares priced at 10p each. It is also pursuing a separate open offer giving existing shareholders the opportunity to invest a total of €5mln.
Jersey Oil & Gas Plc (LON:JOG) trying to raise £24mln - with a £20mln placing and a £4mln open offer – to support its share of the costs for an anticipated appraisal and exploration campaign in the North Sea.
Elsewhere in the North Sea, RockRose Energy Plc (LON:RRE) has announced a transformational deal to acquire a portfolio of producing North Sea assets, which would give it as much as 7,000 barrels of oil per day.
The company is to acquire Idemitsu Petroleum UK Limited, which has stakes of between 6.8% and 50% in ten producing fields operated by larger groups including Repsol, Shell and Premier Oil. It is a large deal for RockRose, a standard listed shell in London, and as such it will be classified as a reverse takeover, meaning that trading in the share has been suspended.
"RockRose is continuing to deliver on its stated strategy of building a business through the acquisition of mature producing assets,” said Andrew Austin, RockRose chairman.
“We believe that this acquisition is a significant one for the company and that this portfolio also has a lot of potential for extended field life and gives Rockrose access to significant tax losses."
Offshore Ireland, Providence Resources PLC (LON:PVR) this week told investors that Total has now taken up its option to farm-in to the Avalon exploration project, offshore Ireland.
In a statement, the company said that Total now has 50% of the Licensing Option (LO) 16/27 following approval by Ireland’s Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment.
Under the terms of the deal, Total pays Providence US$175,000 for pro-rata past costs, as well as covering further costs up to US$1.33mln.
Should the partners take the licence option further, converting into a frontier exploration licence, then Total will cover 60% of the drilling costs up to a maximum of US$42mln. Total will be the operator, with 50%, while Providence retains 40% meanwhile Sosina has 10%.