For Immediate Release
11 May 2017
DORIEMUS PLC
("Doriemus" or the
"Company")
Brockham Oil Field – Onshore UK.
Doriemus PLC advises that Angus Energy Plc, the “Operator” of
the Brockkham Oil Field, has today advised the Brockham partners
that following consultation with the UK’s Oil & Gas Authority
(“OGA”) it has submitted the required Field Development Plan (FDP)
Addendum to commence production from the Kimmeridge layers at its
Brockham Oil Field, Production License 235. In addition to
the standard HSE consent for any well operations, the FDP Addendum
approval from the OGA is the sole regulatory approval required to
produce hydrocarbons from the Kimmeridge layers in addition to the
existing Portland production. The Company will update investors
once the OGA approve the FDP Addendum.
The Operator also advises today , that:
“Following the Company’s RNS dated 10
March 2017, Angus Energy’s guidance from 10 March 2017 is unchanged.
The various press reports have created unwarranted and
groundless speculation pertaining to the BR-X4Z sidetrack, the
legal status of said sidetrack and the future of production from
the Brockham Oil Field. For the avoidance of any doubt following
the erroneous reports, the Company has taken the precaution of
obtaining additional legal review from Queen’s Counsel.
Queen’s Counsel (the “QC”) has confirmed her considered view
that well BR-X4 (the donor well of the X4Z sidetrack, also known as
well no. 3) has planning permission until 2036. Similarly, the QC
confirms that the sidetrack to Well BR-X4, drilled in January 2017, is authorised by the 2006 planning
permission.
With the review completed, we highlight below the potential
cause for any perceived misunderstanding. Although not material in
its own right, a mismatch of well numbering in prior administrative
paperwork provided to Angus Energy appears to have allowed some
confusion to arise as to the actual operations at the Brockham Oil
Field.
Key Facts:
-
As stated in the Company’s admission document to the AIM,it was
the objective to drill a sidetrack from the BR-X4 well to ensure
the continued use and production from the Portland reservoir and
assess the hydrocarbon production potential from the Kimmeridge
layers and Corallian section.
-
During the preparation phase of the drilling operation, the
Company detected that the surface infrastructure of the BR-X4 well
did not match its expected subsurface composition but instead,
based on the documentation available to the Company, appeared to be
the original Brockham-X1 well. Angus Energy acquired the Brockham
Oil Field in 2012 and had not re-entered either the BR-X4 or
Brockham-X1 well before commencement of these operations, so this
was the first time this apparent mismatch in surface and subsurface
composition had come to light.
-
In addition to necessary maintenance, re-entry of the original
Brockham-X1 well also allowed for the proper assessment of the
layers of interest.
-
The Brockham site had the benefit of existing planning
permissions granted by Surrey County Council (SCC) and the required
approvals from the EA, HSE and OGA for the maintenance work,
re-entry and/or planned sidetrack, therefore the subsurface
assessment continued. The re-entry with Measurement While Drilling
(MWD) tools confirmed that the well that had been entered was
indeed BR-X4 rather than Brockham-X1.
-
Best practices for operational safety dictated that only when
operations were finished and the well was safely cased off could
the Company determine the root cause of the well numbering
confusion. Angus Energy determined that the mismatch was caused by
an undocumented, non-standard, spool piece which was installed by
the previous owners of the field and resulted in the ‘mislabelling’
of the well head.
-
No matter the determination by the Company, whether it was a
re-entry of Brockham-X1 or a sidetrack of BR-X4, either operation
was fully permitted within the Company’s regulatory approvals from
the relevant authorities. It should be noted, that a sidetrack is a
component of a drilled well. It is not a well and cannot be created
or exist independent of the actual well.
-
Angus Energy has been transparent throughout its operations. As
such, it apprised the SCC of the documentation discrepancy as
discovered during the January operations.
-
Prior to the confusion over well numbering, in December 2016, the County Council gave advice
that any new well was not to be drilled into ‘any different
geological formations or to a deeper depth or into any undrilled
area than already drilled to’’’.
For reference, the original Brockham-X1 well was drilled by BP
to a total depth of 2,070m Total Vertical Depth (TVD) while the X4Z
sidetrack only reached a depth of 1,391m TVD. Well within the
constraints of the existing geological envelope of operations.
-
Despite the misleading press reports, no new well was drilled
nor were any operations conducted into any different geological
formations, at a deeper depth or in any undrilled area.
Upon OGA approval the Company plans to put this well into
production as soon as possible.”
Interest in Brockham Oil Field (PL
235):
Doriemus owns a 10% direct interest in the Brockham Oil Field
which is held under UK Production Licence PL 235.
The directors of the Company accept responsibility for the
contents of this announcement.
For further information please
contact:
Doriemus Plc:
www.doriemus.com
David Lenigas (Executive Chairman)
+44 (0) 20 74400640
Hamish Harris (Non-Executive
Director)
Peterhouse Corporate Finance
Limited +44 (0)
20 7469 0930
Guy Miller
Fungai Ndoro
Square 1 Consulting (Public Relations)
+44 (0) 20 7929 5599
David Bick