Alba Mineral Resources PLC Horse Hill Update (4495B)

TIDMALBA

RNS Number : 4495B

Alba Mineral Resources PLC

04 April 2017

Alba Mineral Resources plc

("Alba" or the "Company")

OGA Agrees Work Programme and Extends Retention Area Periods for Horse Hill Licenses, Weald Basin, SE UK

The Company announces that it has been informed by the operator, Horse Hill Developments Limited ("HHDL"), that the Oil and Gas Authority ("OGA") has consented to extend the current PEDL137 and PEDL246 Retention Areas ("RAs") until 2021. The PEDL137 and PEDL246 RAs, which cover the entirety of the licences, will now expire on 30(th) September and 30(th) June, 2021, respectively. The Company holds a 9.75 % net interest in the licences via its 15% ownership of the licence's operator HHDL.

The RA work programmes, now agreed with OGA, comprise; the planned Horse Hill-1 ("HH-1") Kimmeridge and Portland production tests, HH-1z Kimmeridge Limestone ("KL") and HH-2 Portland appraisal wells, 50 km(2) of 3D seismic, 25 km of 2D seismic in PEDL246 and a PEDL246 exploration step-out well. The RAs for each licence can be further extended or modified subject to an ongoing minimum work programme agreed by the OGA.

Mike Nott, CEO of Alba, commented:

"We are very pleased to have received this notification from the OGA. The matter represents another significant step in the journey from discovery to production. There is no doubt in my mind that the Wealden area is developing into a significant natural resources oil play and we are pleased to be one of the joint venture partners pursuing the exploitation of one of our Country's significant natural resources"

HH-1 Oil Discovery

The HH-1 Kimmeridge Limestone and Portland oil discovery well is located within onshore exploration Licence PEDL137, on the northern side of the Weald Basin, 3 km north of Gatwick Airport. As previously reported in February and March 2016, two naturally-fractured limestone members within the Kimmeridge section, known as KL3 and KL4, flowed dry, 40-degree API oil, at an aggregate stabilised natural flow rate of 1,365 barrels per day ("bopd") with no clear indication of depletion. The overlying Portland flowed dry, 35-37 API gravity crude at a stable pumped rate of 323 bopd. The Portland was produced at the rod-pump's maximum achievable rate and thus flow was constrained by the pump's mechanical capacity.

As previously reported in October 2016 and March 2016, an application for long term production testing and further appraisal drilling was submitted to Surrey County Council in October 2016, and is now scheduled to be decided at the Council's planning committee meeting in July 2017. The Company therefore envisages that these operations will commence in the second half of 2017 upon grant of the necessary remaining regulatory permissions.

Qualified Person's Statement

Michael Nott, aged 68, Alba's CEO, has over 45 years relevant experience in the geological, mining, minerals, waste disposal, industrial minerals, oil , drilling, mineral planning and quarrying industries has approved the information in this announcement.

He holds a BSc. Degree in Geology from Queen Mary, University of London, a MSc. Degree in Mineral Production Management from the Royal School of Mines, Imperial College, University of London, the Diploma of Imperial College in Mineral Production Management and is a Chartered Engineer.

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, a Fellow of the Minerals Engineering Society, a Fellow of the Institute of Quarrying and an Associate of the Royal School of Mines Association.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014

For further information, please contact:

For further information please contact:

 
 Alba Mineral Resources 
  plc 
  Michael Nott, CEO                [phone] 
 Cairn Financial Advisers 
  LLP 
  James Caithie / Liam 
  Murray                           [phone] 
 Dowgate Capital Stockbrokers 
  Limited 
  Jason Robertson / Neil 
  Badger                           [phone] 
 

Glossary:

 
 degree API     a measure of the density of crude 
                 oil, as defined by the American 
                 Petroleum Institute 
-------------  ------------------------------------------ 
 discovery      a discovery is a petroleum accumulation 
                 for which one or several exploratory 
                 wells have established through 
                 testing, sampling and/or logging 
                 the existence of a significant 
                 quantity of potentially moveable 
                 hydrocarbons 
-------------  ------------------------------------------ 
 limestone      a sedimentary rock predominantly 
                 composed of calcite (a crystalline 
                 mineral form of calcium carbonate) 
                 of organic, chemical or detrital 
                 origin. Minor amounts of dolomite, 
                 chert and clay are common in limestones. 
                 Chalk is a form of fine-grained 
                 limestone 
-------------  ------------------------------------------ 
 Retention      An area covering all or part of 
  Area ("RA")    an onshore UK "14(th) Round New 
                 Model" Licence that can be retained 
                 until the expiry date without any 
                 relinquishment and subject to a 
                 work programme agreed by the OGA. 
                 Usually, as in the case of PEDL137 
                 and PEDL246, the Retention Area 
                 covers the entire Licensed area 
-------------  ------------------------------------------ 
 seismic        use of reflected and refracted 
                 sound waves generated at the surface 
                 to ascertain the nature of subsurface 
                 geological structure. 2D seismic 
                 records a two-dimensional cross-section 
                 through the subsurface collected 
                 using the two-dimensional common 
                 mid-point method. 3D seismic records 
                 a three-dimensional image through 
                 the subsurface using the common 
                 depth-point method. 
-------------  ------------------------------------------ 
 step-out       a well designed to determine the 
                 lateral extent of a discovered 
                 hydrocarbon accumulation or play 
-------------  ------------------------------------------ 
 

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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April 04, 2017 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)