A subsidiary of UK Oil and Gas (UKOG) has deemed the Portland Sandstone discovery in Surrey “commercially viable” following extended well tests.
The announcement was made by Horse Hill Developments (HHDL), a subsidiary company and the operator of the HH-1 Kimmeridge Limestone and conventional Portland Sandstone oil discovery.
HHDL currently envisages the Portland field development plan to consist of up to three production wells and up to two pressure support wells.
The UKOG subsidiary company confirmed it is targeting a “sustainable daily Portland production rate of 720 to 1,080 barrels of oil per day (bopd).
HHDL now targets the start-up of long term Portland oil production during 2019, subject to the grant of necessary regulatory consents.
The first future horizontal production well, HH-2, for which planning and Environment Agency consents are in place, is planned to be drilled in early 2019.
Stephen Sanderson, UKOG’s chief executive, said: “HHDL’s declaration of Portland commercial viability is a significant milestone for the Company. It transforms Horse Hill from solely exploration into a fully-fledged field development with a full-scale oil production start-up targeted in 2019.
“The better than expected EWT results have robustly demonstrated that the Portland has significant daily production potential in its own right, which could see the first planned horizontal producer attain sustained oil rates of 720-1,080 bopd. If realised, these rates could make the Horse Hill Portland oil field one of the UK onshore’s top producers.
“We also eagerly anticipate the possibility of combined long-term production from both the Portland and Kimmeridge, an exciting and potentially transformational prospect for Horse Hill and the Company.”