Commencement of Drilling Operations at Kiln Lane-1 (PEDL181)
Egdon Resources plc (LSE: EDR) notes that Europa Oil and Gas plc ("Europa") has today announced the commencement of drilling operations at the Kiln Lane-1 Exploration Well on PEDL181 where Egdon holds a 25.0 per cent interest.Europa’s RNS contained the following information:“Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc, the AIM quoted oil and gas exploration and development company with a combination of producing and exploration assets in Europe, is pleased to announce its Kiln Lane -1 conventional exploration well (‘Kiln Lane’) on Licence PEDL 181 in Northeast Lincolnshire spudded at 7:06 hours on 23rd February 2015. The Company estimates Kiln Lane has mean gross un-risked recoverable resources of 2.9 million barrels of oil. Europa is operator of and has a 50% working interest in PEDL 181, which covers an area of over 540 km2 in the East Midlands Petroleum Province. Egdon Resources and Celtique Energie Petroleum Ltd each have a 25% interest in the Licence.The planned well will be drilled as a straight hole to a total depth of approximately 2,500 metres. Europa anticipates drilling operations will take 36 days. The Kiln Lane prospect is a robust structural closure defined on 3-D seismic data and the well has been designed to intersect a number of prospective Upper Carboniferous age sandstone reservoirs in a structurally favourable position near the crest of the structure. Kiln Lane is located some 25 km east of both Europa’s Crosby Warren field, which has been producing oil for almost 28 years, and the recent Egdon-operated Wressle-1 oil discovery in PEDL 180 in which Europa has a 33.3% interest. The prospect is a typical East Midlands Petroleum Province oil play but in a comparatively underexplored part of the basin.In the event of exploration success Europa will suspend the well and return with a dedicated test rig for production testing operations in a similar fashion to the current testing operations at Wressle. Should production testing prove successful we will follow up with an extended well test with the intention of obtaining more detailed reservoir performance information to enable fast track development. Success at Kiln Lane also has the potential to substantially de-risk a number of other exploration leads in the licence area for possible follow-up drilling. Kiln Lane is a conventional exploration well targeting oil in Upper Carboniferous sandstone reservoirs. It is not a shale gas well and therefore operations at the site will not involve hydraulic fracturing.Europa’s CEO, Hugh Mackay said, “"We are delighted to commence operations on the Kiln Kane conventional oil prospect and we look forward to updating shareholders with the results from this well towards the end of March. I wish to thank our geoscience, operations and permitting teams all of whom have delivered excellent performance and have brought the well to spud on schedule against a tight timeframe. We are encouraged by the recent discovery of oil at the neighbouring Wressle well and we hope that Kiln Lane will be similarly successful and provide another opportunity to build on our existing oil production and revenues from conventional oil fields in the East Midlands Petroleum Province."
Update on Wressle-1 Well Testing - Results of Wingfield Flags Flow Test
Egdon Resources plc (AIM:EDR) is pleased to provide a further update on the ongoing well test operations at the Wressle-1 oil discovery in licence PEDL180 located to the East of Scunthorpe, where Egdon operates with a 25% interest.Test operations have now been completed on the Wingfield Flags reservoir, the second of three potentially hydrocarbon bearing zones identified in the well. Oil production rates equivalent of up to 182 barrels of oil per day (“bopd”) of good quality 39-40 API oil were achieved on free flow, along with up to 456 thousand cubic feet of gas per day.The final zone will now be tested, but it is already intended to undertake a longer term pumped production test to determine how best the field can be developed.Details of the TestingTest operations have now been completed on the Wingfield Flags reservoir, the second of three potentially hydrocarbon bearing zones identified in the well. An interval of three metres was perforated (1,937 to 1,940 metres measured depth) and following an initial “clean-up” oil and gas flow, two flow tests were carried out using different choke sizes to attempt to optimise oil flowrates - from what proved to be a high Gas Oil Ratio (GOR) oil during the clean-up period:
- During the initial free flowing test using a 16/64” choke, oil production rates equivalent to 116 barrels of oil per day (“bopd”) were achieved during a four hour main flow period along with 341 thousand cubic feet of gas per day. No appreciable volumes of water were observed.
- During the second free flowing test using a wider 32/64” choke, oil production rates equivalent to 182 barrels of oil per day (“bopd”) were achieved during a five hour main flow period along with 456 thousand cubic feet of gas per day. Again no appreciable volumes of water were observed.
- The oil is of good quality with a gravity of 39-40o
Down-hole pressure data, recorded during the main flow and subsequent shut-in build-up period, will now be analysed to evaluate the nature of the reservoir permeability to determine the increased production rates that could be achieved during pumped production.The Wingfield Flags interval will now be isolated with a bridge-plug and test operations will continue on the final zone, the Penistone Flags, where hydrocarbons are indicated from log data and gas chromatograph analysis. We will provide further updates as and when results are known from this interval.Given the encouraging free-flow test results from the Ashover Grit and Wingfield Flags it is intended to undertake a longer term pumped production test subsequent to the completion of current test programme.Commenting on the Wingfield Flags flow test results, Mark Abbott Managing Director of Egdon Resources said;“These are very encouraging results, with free-flowing rates of up to 182 bopd from the Wingfield Flags and 80 bopd from the Ashover Grit zone tested last week. We now look forward to flow testing the final interval the Penistone Flags which could add further substantial production potential to that achieved from the Wingfield Flags and the Ashover Grit. We are progressing with plans for an extended well test to provide an assessment of longer term production performance under pumped conditions, to confirm commerciality and provide the data required in planning for the development of the Wressle oil and gas discovery. As previously stated the low capital and operating cost of UK onshore developments make developments such as Wressle commercially attractive even in today's lower oil price environment. We look forward to updating shareholders further following the Penistone Flags test."
Update on Wressle-1 Well Testing - Results of Ashover Grit Flow Test
Egdon Resources plc (AIM:EDR) is pleased to provide an update on the ongoing well test operations at the Wressle-1 oil discovery in licence PEDL180 located to the East of Scunthorpe, where Egdon operates with a 25% interest.Test operations have now been completed on the Ashover Grit reservoir, the first of three potentially hydrocarbon bearing zones identified in the well. An interval of 9.5 metres was perforated (2006.1 to 2015.6 metres measured depth) and following an initial “clean-up” flow, free flowing oil production rates equivalent to 80 barrels of oil per day (“bopd”) were achieved during a 16 hour main flow period along with 47 thousand cubic feet of gas per day. No appreciable volumes of water were observed. The oil is of good quality with a gravity of 39-40o API.Down-hole pressure data, recorded during the main flow and subsequent shut-in build-up period, will now be analysed to evaluate the nature of the reservoir permeability to determine the increased production rates that could be achieved during pumped production.The Ashover Grit interval will now be isolated with a bridge-plug and test operations will continue on two further discrete zones, the Wingfield Flags and Penistone Flags, where hydrocarbons are indicated from log data and gas chromatograph analysis. We will provide further updates as and when results are known from these intervals.Given the encouraging free-flow test results from the Ashover Grit it is intended to undertake a longer term pumped production test subsequent to the current test programme being completed.Commenting on the Ashover Grit flow test results, Mark Abbott Managing Director of Egdon Resources said;“These are very encouraging results, with free-flowing rates of 80 bopd of good quality oil from the first zone tested. We now look forward to the results from two further intervals which could add further substantial production potential to that demonstrated from the Ashover Grit. During this period of reduced oil prices, the low development and operating costs of onshore UK production means that discoveries such as Wressle remain commercially attractive and we look forward to progressing plans for a longer term pumped production test on the Ashover Grit and any of the other zones which show potential.”
Sale of Licence Interests to UK Oil & Gas Investments PLC
Egdon Resources plc (AIM: EDR, “the Company”) is pleased to announce that the Company has agreed the sale of its interests in two non-core licences in Southern England to UK Oil & Gas Investments PLC (AIM: UKOG, “UKOG”).Subject to the normal regulatory approvals, UKOG will acquire Egdon’s 7.5% interest in licence P.1916 offshore the Isle of Wight and the Company’s 10.0% interest in Weald Basin licence PEDL126 each for a nominal consideration, with the effective date of each transaction being 1 January 2015.Commenting on these disposals, Mark Abbott, Managing Director of Egdon said:
“We are pleased to have completed the disposal of these two minority interest, non-core assets in line with our stated strategy of concentrating our resources on fewer, higher impact projects.“
Directors Share Dealings
The Company was informed on 3rd December 2014 that Mr Ken Ratcliff, a non-Executive Director of the Company, on 3rd December 2014 transferred 39,812 ordinary shares from his personal name at 11.65p per share to his ISA at 12.02p per share and that his wife transferred 105,656 ordinary shares from her personal name at 11.55p per share to her ISA at 11.77p per shareMr Ratcliffs total beneficial shareholding in Egdon remains 157,603 Ordinary Shares, representing 0.07% of the issued share capital of the Company.The Company was also informed on 4th December 2014 that Mr Walter Roberts, a non-Executive Director of the Company, on 4th December 2014 transferred 12,171 ordinary shares from his personal name at 11.5p per share to his Self-Invested Pension Plan at 11.7p per share.Mr Roberts total beneficial shareholding in Egdon remains 1,114,493 Ordinary Shares, representing 0.50% of the issued share capital of the Company.
Planning Permission granted for North Kelsey-1 Exploration Well
Egdon Resources plc (AIM:EDR) is pleased to advise that at the Planning and Regulation Committee Meeting of Lincolnshire County Council yesterday, planning consent was granted for the drilling and any subsequent testing of the North Kelsey-1 exploration well in Lincolnshire licence PEDL241.The North Kelsey Prospect is located approximately 10 kilometres to the south of the Wressle-1 discovery well in PEDL180. The prospect is defined on 3D seismic data and has potential for up to four stacked conventional reservoir intervals in the Chatsworth, Beacon Hill, Ravensthorpe and Santon sandstones. The gross mean combined Prospective Resources for these multiple objectives, as calculated by Egdon are estimated to be 6.7 million barrels of oil.It is intended to drill the North Kelsey-1 exploration well as part of a three well operated programme commencing during Q1 2015 which will include Laughton-1 in PEDL209 and Biscathorpe-1 in PEDL253, with Biscathorpe-1 still subject to planning. For clarity the operations at all sites will involve exploration for conventional hydrocarbons and will not involve the process of hydraulic fracking for shale gas.The interests in the North Kelsey-1 well are:Egdon Resources U.K. Limited40% (Operator)Celtique Energie Petroleum Limited50%Union Jack Oil plc10%Under the terms of a farm-in agreement with Union Jack plc, Egdon will be carried by Union Jack for 10% of its share of the North Kelsey-1 well costs.Commenting on the planning decision Mark Abbott, Managing Director of Egdon said;
We are delighted to receive planning consent for the drilling of the North Kelsey-1 exploration well. North Kelsey will expose Egdon to 2.7 million barrels of mean Prospective Resources in a series of stacked sandstone reservoir targets. We will now work through the various planning conditions to be in a position to drill the North Kelsey-1 well as part of our H1 2015 drilling programme which in addition to operated wells at Laughton-1, North Kesley-1 and Biscathorpe-1 will include a well at Kiln Lane-1 operated by Europa.
Exercise of Exploration Option and Farm-in Agreement, PL161 and PL162
Further to the announcement made on 5 December 2013, Egdon Resources plc (AIM:EDR) is pleased to announce that it has exercised its Exploration Option and Farm-in Agreement ("The Agreement") with Scottish Power Generation Limited ("SPG") to farm in to UK Onshore Production Licences PL161 (Block SE/60b) and PL162 (Blocks SE/70a and SE/80b) located in Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire.The Agreement defines an "Exploration Area", which excludes those parts of PL161 and PL162 relating to the Hatfield Moor operational gas store, the Hatfield West gas storage reservoir and the operational gas reception facility operated by SPG.Under the terms of The Agreement, SPG granted Egdon an Option Period of twelve months by the end of which Egdon was required to either advise SPG of its intention to commit to the drilling of an exploration well in the Exploration Area (the "Option Well") or else terminate The Agreement.During the Option Period, Egdon undertook a full evaluation of the hydrocarbon potential of the Exploration Area, which included reprocessing all relevant existing 2D seismic data. Egdon is very encouraged by the results of this evaluation, both in terms of conventional and unconventional prospectivity, and has elected to exercise its option.Egdon will meet the full cost of the drilling and evaluation of a well in the Exploration Area to the point of either abandonment or suspension in the case of a discovery. Egdon will earn a 50% working interest in the Exploration Area through the drilling of the Option Well and will become Operator of the Exploration Area. Initial work will comprise new 2D acquisition to finalise the location for the option well.The transaction is subject both to certain conditions precedent and to approval by the Secretary of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change.Commenting on the announcement, Mark Abbott, Managing Director of Egdon said:
We are very encouraged by the results of our evaluation of PL161 and PL162, both in terms of conventional and unconventional prospectivity, and look forward to working with SPG in exploring these exciting plays. We expect to see a play opening well operated by our partner IGas on neighbouring acreage in H2 2015, which should aid in de-risking the unconventional plays on PL161 and PL162.The exercise of this option is consistent with our strategy of increasing our exposure to shale-gas prospective acreage in our Gainsborough Trough core area.
Update on Timing of Wressle-1 Well Testing
Egdon Resources plc (AIM:EDR) provides an update on the timing of the testing programme for the Wressle-1 well located in licence PEDL180 to the East of Scunthorpe in Lincolnshire.We are pleased to advise that the Environment Agency permit variation for testing operations was issued on 1st December 2014. The permit includes additional monitoring requirements to those originally envisaged under Egdon’s own risk assessment process and a requirement for a notice period of four weeks for the EA to approve the proposed monitoring methodology to meet these additional requirements. We will submit the revised method statement this week and as such we now expect to begin mobilisation to the Wressle-1 site during the week beginning 5th January 2015 with testing operations to start shortly thereafter.As previously reported petrophysical evaluation of log data acquired in the Wressle-1 well and elevated gas readings recorded whilst drilling indicate the presence of potential hydrocarbon pay in three main intervals, and the well has been completed with a 4 ½" liner to enable selective and sequential testing of these intervals. The test operations are designed to determine the hydrocarbon type and potential flow rates and hence commerciality of the Wressle-1 discovery.The interests in the Wressle-1 well are:Egdon Resources U.K. Limited25.00% (Operator)Celtique Energie Petroleum Limited33.33%Europa Oil & Gas Limited33.34%Union Jack Oil plc8.33%Commenting on the update Mark Abbott, Managing Director of Egdon said;
We are pleased to have the EA permit in place and can look forward with a clear timeline now for the commencement of testing of up to three potentially hydrocarbon bearing zones at Wressle-1 with mobilisation planned to start immediately in the New Year.
Director Share Dealing
The Company has been informed that Mark Abbott, Managing Director, today purchased 200,000 ordinary shares in the Company at a price of 12.45 pence each via his SIPP. Mr Abbotts total beneficial shareholding in the Company is now 7,663,824 ordinary shares, representing 3.46 per cent of the issued share capital of the Company.