The Horse Hill follow-ups are taking big steps forward

It has been a busy day for the stable of explorers following up the Horse Hill oil discovery in the south of England.

UK Oil & Gas Investments PLC (LON:UKOG) took the morning glory, rising 20%, after positive results from the Broadford Bridge well some 27 kilometres from the Horse Hill well.

Findings to date from the BB-1 well are consistent with Horse Hill, and back up the theory that the so-called ‘Gatwick Gusher’ project is not a one-off – rather there’s a wider oil and gas play beneath large swathes of Southern England that could yield lucrative production.

In a statement, UKOG revealed that 330 feet of core has been recovered from the Broadford Bridge well where mobile light oil is being observed as operations continue.

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Oil is observed seeping from multiple sections of naturally fractured KL4 calcareous shales and limestones in the cored sections, UKOG said, whilst adding that mobile Kimmeridge oil was also recovered in drilling fluid.

Additionally, the company noted that wet gas readings remained at high levels throughout cored, something that was ‘almost identical’ to what happened at Horse Hill.

Angus, Doriemus and Alba on schedule for near-term production

Angus Energy Plc (LON:ANGS), Doriemus PLC (LON:DOR) and Alba Minerals Resources Plc (LON:ALBA) are, meanwhile, advancing a programme at the Brockham project which, by tapping into an already existing well, could potentially take the play into production ahead of either Horse Hill or Broadford Bridge.

In a statement, later on Monday, Angus told investors that its proposed work at Brockham won’t require an environmental impact assessment. The project involves upgraded surface infrastructure at an existing operating site – including new cabins, fencing, concrete building works and other surface structures.

The company noted that the work on surface infrastructure is separate from the subsurface work undertaken at the site, and the company’s guidance on that matter remains unchanged from its commentary back in March.

Brockham is therefore still expected to start production from the Kimmeridge play this summer, Angus highlighted.

Angus noted that the Kimmeridge, the zone successfully tested at Horse Hill and thus far sampled at BB-1, has been calculated at 385 metres in the Brockham side-track well.

The company also stressed that the Kimmeridge play is naturally fractured and can be produced by conventional production methods, with the oil released via the natural fracture systems within the interbedded limestone and shale layers.

Specifically, Angus says that in the Brockham side-track well there is a naturally fractured 200 metre band of reservoir, which will be placed into production once proposals have received final consent from the UK regulator, the Oil & Gas Authority.

Angus managing director Paul Vonk said: “All are very encouraging results for the ultimate potential of Angus Energy's assets in the Weald Basin. 

“Our analysis along with the reported results from Broadford Bridge last week, further reduce the operational risk of our planned production from the Kimmeridge at Brockham this summer."

Broadford Bridge confirms light mobile oil

UKOG describes the presence of light mobile oil in fractured Kimmeridge shales as being highly significant, adding that it corroborates the finding from Horse Hill that suggested oil production was likely derived from a much larger reservoir ‘tank’ than the two KL3 and KL4 zones alone.

It highlighted that a flow testing programme will now “rigorously examine” the possibility that there is a 600-700 feet thick, naturally fractured oil reservoir (encompassing all four Kimmeridge Limestones) underlying a significant proportion of Southern England’s Weald Basin.

Stephen Sanderson, UKOG executive chairman, in a statement said: “The coring programme continues to deliver positive results and important new insights into this continuous oil accumulation, the first of its kind discovered in the UK.

“Following the KL3 and contingent KL2 coring programmes, we will run electric logs, set the final 7-inch steel casing and then, following the grant of the remaining necessary regulatory permissions, move straight to extended flow testing operations around the second half of July."

The Broadford Bridge site is located near Billingshurst, West Sussex, and situated around 27 kilometres away from the Horse Hill discovery well it is deemed to be an exploration ‘step-out’ designed to find new resources and provide additional insights to the Kimmeridge play that was unearthed by the previous well.