Union Jack Oil PLC (LON:UJO) has updated investors on the West Newton project where drilling operations will begin imminently on the West Newton B-1 well.
Following the completion of site preparation work, a rig and crew arrived on-site yesterday. The programme gets underway with conductor drilling down to 80 metres at which point casing will be set before the main drill rig is erected for the remainder of the programme down to 2,000 metres.
READ: UJO counts down to new West Newton drilling
The drill programme will be undertaken 24 hours a day for six to ten weeks.
Union Jack owns a 16.665% interest in the West Newton project.
The West Newton B-1 well is an appraisal of the discovery made last year. The base-case estimates for the project see some 146.4mln barrels of oil initially in place and 211.5bn cubic feet of gas, whilst the upside version anticipates 283mln barrels of oil and 265.9bn cubic feet of gas.
Data gathered during the drill programme will inform a subsequent well testing programme which will aim to establish production capabilities and guide future activity at the project.