Oil & Gas Corporate News
Rockhopper (LON:RKH) Exploration (BUY, £5.00) (RKH, 217p, ? 0.8%) announced that well 14/10-4, the first appraisal well on the Sea Lion feature, located 2.3 km WNW of the 14/10-2 discovery well and designed to investigate reservoir presence and oil column at a downdip location, has reached TD at 2801m (drilled depth). The well has proved a thick, high quality reservoir package, a substantial oil column and recognition of the first oil-water contact in the licence to date. The top Sea Lion reservoir sands were encountered 66m downdip from the 14/10-2 discovery well. A total reservoir package of 107m comprising four main sands was encountered with a net to gross of 76%. Average porosity is 20% and permeability is over 100 millidarcies. 30m of net pay has been encountered in the upper of the four sands, representing the main Sea Lion southern fan. The gross oil column now proven in the main Sea Lion southern fan is 104m. 3m of net oil pay is present in the lower sands and these thin oil sands are below the water leg of the upper sands indicating at least one additional oil column. The lower fan encountered in 14/10-2 was neither strongly developed nor prognosed at this location, but the thin lower oil sands at 14/10-4 confirm prospectivity for lower fan sequences developed elsewhere downdip. A mini-DST (wireline drill stem test) was performed using a dual-packer MDT tool over a one metre interval at 2486m (drilled depth) within the oil column. This test successfully flowed oil into the wellbore, providing additional samples and pressure build-up data. These data indicate that flow rates and producibility at the location could be significantly better than at 14/10-2. A single MDT sample chamber was opened on the rig and initial wellsite analysis indicates a medium grade oil similar to that in 14/10-2. An oil-water contact (OWC) is indicated from cores, wireline logs and MDT pressure and sampling data at a depth of 2503m drilled or 2477m true vertical depth subsea. The northern fan penetrated by the 14/10-3 well is represented as a thin sand at the base of the main section at this location. The sand was within the water column. Potential remains in the main northern fan updip of this location. The extensive reservoir information from cores, wireline logs, seismic and wireline MDT test data is being…
