UK Oil & Gas PLC
("UKOG" or the "Company")
Turkey: Pinarova-1 drilling ahead
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 | |
| WH Ireland Ltd (Nominated Adviser and Broker) |
| |
| James Joyce / Andrew de Andrade/James Bavister
| Tel: 020 7220 1666
| |
| Communications |
| |
| Brian Alexander | Tel: 01483 941493 | |
| | | |
Glossary
| °API | a measure of the density of crude oil, as defined by the American Petroleum Institute |
| discovery | a petroleum accumulation for which one or several exploratory wells have established through testing, sampling and/or logging the existence of a significant quantity of potentially moveable hydrocarbons |
| drill cuttings | small chips of rock of a few millimetres or smaller diameter that are produced from the cutting and grinding action of the drill bit against the rock formation and which are brought to surface within the drilling fluid or mud. |
| limestone | a sedimentary rock predominantly composed of calcite (a crystalline mineral form of calcium carbonate) of organic, chemical or detrital origin. |
| oil pay | a reservoir or portion of a reservoir that contains economically producible hydrocarbons. The term derives from the fact that it is capable of "paying" an income. |
| oil seep | a natural flow of crude oil at or close to the earth's surface whose origin is from a petroleum accumulation or oil source rock at depth. |
| oil shows | The presence of visible moveable oil on drill cuttings and or within the drilling fluid seen at surface |
| seismic amplitude | a measure of the seismic reflection strength at a given subsurface interface |
| seismic amplitude anomaly | a seismic amplitude that is either higher or lower than the general amplitudes seen elsewhere at the same geological interface indicating a possible lateral change in rock properties resulting from a possible change in rock fluid content i.e., the presence of hydrocarbons and or lithology and or porosity. |
| shot hole | a shallow borehole in which a small amount of explosive is detonated in order to generate a seismic signal |
| swabbing, swab test | a basic testing procedure using an array of rubber swabbing cups attached to heavy wireline within production tubing. When the swabbing cups are moved repeatedly upwards this creates a suction or basic pumping effect in the tubing which can reduce/unload the head of fluids adjacent to the reservoir which can induce inflow from the formation into the well. Swabbing was used at UKOG's Horse Hill field in 2016 to induce flow from both the Kimmeridge and Portland zones. |
The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the retained EU law version of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 (the "UK MAR") which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. The information is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of the UK MAR. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.
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