UK-based fractured basement reservoir explorer Hurricane Energy says a new competent person's report (CPR) across its Rona Ridge assets has seen an increase in its reserves estimates - by 231%.
The report, by by RPS Energy Consultants, estimates more than a billion barrels of resource in the Hurricane, Halifax and Lincoln fields and the untested Warwick prospect. The report doesn't include the Lancaster field, which is expected to start production in 1H 2019 via an early production system (EPS).
According to the report, Hurricane's total 2P Reserves plus 2C Contingent Resources (not including Lancaster) have increased by about 231% to 2.6 billion boe. That includes 1.3 billion boe in Halifax, 540 million in Lincoln (both 2C contingent), and 935 MMboe Best Case (P50) prospective resources in Warwick, with a 77% chance of being a discovery.
Given the size of a development to tap these resources, all West of Shetland on the UK Continental Shelf, farm-in partners are likely to wait to see the results of the EPS before commiting in any development, says Hurricane.
Hurricane CEO Dr Robert Trice said: "We are pleased to now have independent validation of our geological model for the Rona Ridge basement play. The Lancaster EPS will go a long way, together with other appraisal work, to narrowing reservoir resource ranges on our assets on the Rona Ridge, following target first production in H1 2019. In addition to providing significant cash flow, the company believes that a successful EPS will provide a read-across to the production potential of all our basement assets, materially de-risking Lancaster and the surrounding fields at Lincoln, Halifax, Warwick and Whirlwind."
Hurricane says that RPS concludes that Halifax has similar reservoir properties to Lancaster and that the two fields may share a common aquifer. A difference in depth in the oil water contact between Lancaster and Halifax (of about 200m) may be explained by a tilted oil water contact or the presence of intra basement sealing faults.
RPS also says Lincoln has similar reservoir properties to Lancaster. Lincoln and Warwick could be a single accumulation, but they are being viewed as separate structures, at least until a well is drilled at Warwick. "Whether they are separate structures or prove to be a single accumulation, Lincoln and Warwick (the "Greater Warwick Area") are comparable in resource potential to Lancaster and Halifax (the "Greater Lancaster Area") with a combined, recoverable resource that could potentially be in the order of 1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent," says Hurricane.
Hurricane didn't include the Licences P.1485 and P.1835, which contain the Typhoon and Tempest prospects, in the report, as it intends to relinquish these licences.
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