UK-based explorer Independent Oil and Gas (IOG) expects to take Transocean's Sedco 704 semisubmersible drilling rig on contract and start drilling an appraisal well on the Skipper oil discovery in the second half of July 2016.
Skipper lies in Block 9/21a in license P1609 in the Northern North Sea and IOG is the 100% owner and operator of the license. The well is expected to take approximately 22 days to drill.
The vertical well will be drilled to 5600ft with the primary objective of retrieving good quality reservoir condition oil samples in order to optimize the Skipper field development plan.
The well will also drill two mapped reservoir structures beneath the Skipper oil field in the Lower Dornoch and Maureen formations.
The directors of IOG believe an approved field development plan on Skipper would convert the Board's estimated 34.1 MMbbl of contingent resources, based on a 25% recovery factor, into 2P reserves.
Mark Routh CEO of IOG commented: "We are now in the final stages of preparation for this well which we believe will be transformational for IOG and should confirm Skipper as a key pillar in our target to achieve more than 100 MMboe combined 2P reserves and 2C resources net to IOG from the existing portfolio once the previously announced Vulcan satellites acquisition is completed. We are very excited to be drilling in the North Sea at this time and look forward to progressing straight to the Skipper Field Development planning thereafter."