Drilling Update, Horse Hill-1, Weald Basin UK

RNS Number : 4984S

Solo Oil Plc

24 September 2014

 



For Immediate Release

24 September 2014

SOLO OIL PLC

("Solo")

Drilling Update, Horse Hill-1, Weald Basin UK

Solo Oil Plc (AIM: SOLO) today confirms that drilling operations on the Horse Hill-1 well are continuing successfully and the Marriott 50 rig is now drilling ahead at a rate of penetration of over 30 feet/hour at a depth of 116 feet measured depth ("MD") today at 12:00 hours.

Neil Ritson, the Company's Executive Director, commented:

"Horse Hill Developments Limited has successfully installed the heavy drilling rig and the well is proceeding towards the first conventional oil objectives in the Jurassic.  We would expect significant news over the coming weeks as we reach the reservoirs previously drilled by ESSO in the 1960's which intersected good oil shows in the nearby Collendean Farm-1 well."

The Horse Hill-1 well is located on the northern side of UK Weald Basin near Gatwick Airport and is planned to drill to a Total Depth ("TD") of 8,680 feet measured depth ("MD") to test a number of conventional oil and gas targets.

The surface casing has been cemented at a depth of 84 feet below ground level and the well is now being drilled in 17 ½ -inch hole to a casing point at approximately 1,865 feet MD, where a 13 3/8-inch casing will be installed and cemented.  The well is being deviated a small distance north of the surface location to intersect the prognosed reservoir targets and an optimal location.

After setting the 13 3/8-inch casing the well will be drilled in 12 ½-inch hole to a depth of approximately 5,900 feet MD where open-hole electric logs will be acquired through the prognosed oil reservoirs.

The primary oil reservoir targets in this well lie in the Jurassic Portland Sandstone at about 2,200 feet true vertical depth below sea level ("TVD ss") and the Corallian Sandstone at about 3,440 feet TVD ss. There are also a number of secondary oil targets in the Jurassic aged formations, including the Great Oolite Limestone, estimated to be at 4,530 feet TVD ss. 

Electric logs taken at the intermediate casing depth will be used to determine the extent and location of subsequent testing.  After setting a 9 5/8-inch casing an 8 ½-inch hole will be drilled to TD in order to test for Triassic aged formations which are expected to contain gas.

Solo owns a 10% interest in HHDL, a special purpose company which owns a 65% participating interest and operatorship of onshore licences PEDL137 and the adjacent licence PEDL 246 in the UK Weald Basin.  The participants in the Horse Hill-1 well are HHDL with a 65% working interest and Magellan with a 35% interest.

Competent Person's Statement:

The information contained in this announcement has been reviewed and approved by Neil Ritson, Chief Executive Officer and Director for Solo Oil Plc who has 35 years of relevant experience in the oil industry.  Mr. Ritson is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, an Active Member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and is a Fellow of the Geological Society of London.

Notes for Editors:

The Horse Hill Petroleum Exploration and Development Licence No. 137 covers 99.29 km² (24,525 acre) and is located in Surrey, a few miles north of Gatwick Airport.

The Horse Hill prospect is a horst block bounded by downthrown to the north faults which are clearly seen on recently acquired and processed seismic data.  It is believed that the Esso Collendean Farm-1 well, drilled in 1964, without the benefit of more recent seismic data intersected the prospective reservoirs on the downthrown side of the bounding fault and failed to test the prospect within closure.  The Collendean Farm-1 well, however, reported good oil shows throughout the Jurassic reservoir interval and was terminated at 5,760 feet MD (5,483 feet TVD ss) in Liassic age rocks.

The well is located approximately 7.5 kilometres southeast of the producing Brockham oilfield and approximately 15 kilometres southwest of the Palmers Wood oilfield.  The primary target reservoir horizons of the Portland Sandstone is productive in the Brockham oilfield, and the Corallian Formation is the producing horizon in the Palmers Wood oilfield.  The Triassic is productive in the nearby Wessex Basin and has tested gas in the Weald Basin.

Glossary:

MD         - measured depth

TD           - total depth

TVD ss   - true vertical depth sub sea

For further information:

Solo Oil plc Neil Ritson	[phone]
Beaumont Cornish Limited Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker Roland Cornish	[phone]
Old Park Lane Capital Plc Joint Broker Michael Parnes Shore Capital Joint Broker Pascal Keane Jerry Keen (Corporate Broker) Bell Pottinger                            Public Relations Mark Antelme Henry Lerwill	[phone] [phone] [phone]

 

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