UK Oil & Gas PLC (London AIM: UKOG) is pleased to announce that following completion of an initial 107 metre open hole swab test over the uppermost Hoya limestones, Pinarova-1’s secondary target, the rig is now preparing to drill 8½ inch hole ahead into the underlying primary Hoya objective.
The top of the primary target is coincident with the uppermost and strongest of a series of seismic amplitude anomalies observed within the core of the Pinarova geological structure. Drilling is expected to resume on Wednesday 26th April.
Initial swab test results are inconclusive, neither confirming nor wholly refuting whether the oil shows seen from 358 metres downwards represent an oil pay zone. Swabbing the 107-metre open test zone initially returned only drilling fluids which then became cut with possible formation water during the latter stages of testing. The water ingress recovered may possibly be derived from fractured limestones either above or below the zone corresponding to the onset of oil shows. However, by its nature, an open hole test, with no packer set to provide zone isolation, does not permit the precise location(s) of inflow into a well to be determined.
Consequently, in order to evaluate the oil shows more fully, after the primary target has been drilled and 550 metre total depth reached, it is planned to run electric logs to identify oil pay, followed by cemented 7″ casing. This configuration will then enable definitive conventional selective cased hole tests to be performed, where any discrete identified oil zones can be perforated and isolated from any water bearing intervals.
Pinarova-1, located 6 km north of the Basur-1 oil discovery, is designed to test a working hypothesis, supported by well and seismic data, that the active 41.7˚ API light oil seep found last summer in a seismic shot hole above the Pinarova structure, is directly fed by and connected to an underlying light oil accumulation of some 9 km² areal extent within the Hoya limestones, which lie between c. 300-645 metres below surface.
UKOG holds a 50% non-operated interest in Pinarova-1 and the surrounding 305 km² Resan licence, which also includes the as yet undeveloped Basur-1 light oil discovery.
Qualified Person’s Statement
Matt Cartwright, UKOG’s Commercial Director, who has 39 years of relevant experience in the global oil industry, has approved the information contained in this announcement. Mr Cartwright is a Chartered Engineer and member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
For further information, please contact:
UK Oil & Gas PLC
Stephen Sanderson / Allen D Howard
Tel: 01483 941493
