Hurricane Energy said it has been awarded the P2308 licence by the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) in an out of round application.
The UK based oil and gas company said the licence is contiguous to, and extends north east from, Hurricane’s existing Lancaster licence.
In a statement, Hurricane said the recently drilled Lancaster pilot well encountered a minimum oil down to 1,620m TVDSS, indicating the Lancaster oil accumulation is likely to extend beyond the Lancaster licence boundary.
Dr Robert Trice, chief executive of Hurricane, said:”The Halifax prospect is an extremely exciting opportunity for the Company and a logical target after this year’s drilling success at Lancaster. Our exploration objective is to demonstrate that Halifax is analogous to Lancaster in that the reservoir is highly fractured and that a significant hydrocarbon column is present outside of structural closure.
“If we are successful in this aim, then we believe it will be a significant step in establishing the true extent of the Greater Lancaster Area. This would not only be tremendous news for the Company but also for the UK’s oil and gas Industry.”
Hurricane said it believes if mobile oil can be demonstrated outside of local structural closure at Halifax, then the Lancaster Field could extend further north east along the Rona Ridge.
A previous well drilled on the Halifax structure encountered oil and gas shows in sandstones immediately above the basement.
In addition, Hurricane’s analysis of basement cuttings from the 205/23-2 well indicates the presence of oil thus mitigating the oil charge risk to Halifax.
The firm said seismic interpretation indicates the presence of a well-defined fault network within the fractured basement of the Halifax Prospect, analogous to that seen in Lancaster.
The company added: “Recognising this, Hurricane has identified a well location on Halifax (the “Halifax Well”) and acquired a site survey over the prospective well location in preparation for the drilling of an exploration well.
“On the basis that permits can be obtained in time, Hurricane intends to drill the Halifax Well immediately following the Lincoln Well. Hurricane has extended the date of its second well option with Transocean until 25 November.”
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