Testing the Warwick West well in the UK west of Shetland area has confirmed oil for UK-listed operator Hurricane Energy.

Hurricane said on Monday that the flow test of the 204/30b-4 well showed the presence of light, mobile oil.

Warwick West was drilled in September to a total depth of 1879 metres. It is the third and final well of the 2019 programme on the Greater Warwick Area, which has been carried out using the Transocean Leader semi-submersible rig.

The rig will now plug and abandon the well before demobilising.

“The well flowed for a total of 85 hours in a number of flowing periods at variable rates, using both an electric submersible pump (ESP) and under natural flow, while work continued to clean the well and evaluate reservoir performance,” Hurricane said in a statement.

“After an extended pressure build-up period, a final flow period was conducted under controlled natural flow conditions which achieved a stable, sustainable rate of 1300 barrels of oil per day with evidence of the well having cleaned up further,” the company added.

The first well, Warwick Deep, failed to deliver commercial volumes. However, the second well, on the Lincoln Crestal, was a success, with the operator saying it would be produced via a floating production, storage and offloading vessel at the nearby Lancaster field.

Hurricane has a 50% interest in the Greater Warwick Area following Spirit Energy’s farm-in to the P1368 South and P2294 licences in September 2018.

Robert Trice, chief executive said: “The impact that this well will have on how the company views the

Greater Warwick Area accumulation and its associated volumetrics will require further technical analysis. The Greater Warwick Area joint venture is now assessing the optimal appraisal strategy for the Greater Warwick Area.”

Exploration

Warwick West confirms oil for Hurricane