Pantheon Resources PLC (AIM:PANR, OTC:PTHRF) shares continued its ascent higher on Tuesday after its latest well result in Alaska.
Rising 12% to trade at 139.18p the AIM-quoted explorer is now up around 90% over the past month, and, is now approaching a market capitalisation of £1bn.
Results to date from the Theta West well indicate high-quality light oil was encountered in two targets, the Upper Basin Floor Fan (UBFF) and Lower Basin Floor Fan (LBFF). More testing is required to firm up and further quantify the findings.
Tuesday’s positive result was described as “encouraging” by Pantheon’s technical director whilst chief executive Jay Cheatham meanwhile said the company was “cautiously optimistic”.
The tone of the comments are perhaps more tempered than they might otherwise have been because extreme cold weather in Alaska hampered the initial testing operations.
Pantheon measured some 1,160 feet of gross hydrocarbon-bearing reservoir across two targets in the well, though only ‘logging whilst drilling’ data was captured due to the freezing Arctic weather which prevented a more detailed analysis through wireline data capture.
That said, Pantheon noted that resistivity, gamma ray, neutron density, formation density data was gathered during drilling along with gas chromatography readings, meanwhile, analysts at stockbroker WH Ireland upcoming tests will in-time supersede what would’ve been captured through the wireline.
Most investors await the flow test as a more technically accessible litmus test of the emerging Alaskan oil play, with the programme expected in the coming weeks.
In the meantime, WH Ireland analyst Brendan Long said: “We believe the suite of logs from the logging while drilling tool will be of a high quality and really cover the key data points one would hope to acquire from a well.
“We believe the results announced today are very encouraging. The geological model works, the oil is there, the structures conform with expectations and the reservoir is better than at Talitha #A, as expected.”
Elsewhere, SP Angel analyst Sam Wahab in a note described it as encouraging initial update.
“Following these wells, the PANR intends to drill the Alkaid 2 well in Spring/Summer 2022 which, if successful, can commence production soon thereafter,” the analyst added.
What the company says
In this morning’s statement, Pantheon technical director Bob Rosenthal said: "This an encouraging result.
“Our initial assessment of 1,160 feet of light hydrocarbons 1,500 ft structurally updip from Talitha, with better porosities, is in line with our pre-drill geologic model.
“It is very much a case of so far, so good."
Jay Cheatham, Pantheon chief executive, meanwhile, added: "We are cautiously optimistic that testing will prove the commercial viability of the BFF at this location, with all indications so far supporting our pre-drill assumptions.”