Earlier in December, the company had revealed that the Hykeham-1 exploration well had reached a final total depth of 1,110m in a sidetracked wellbore, and had encountered oil shows from 18m gross thickness of Basal Sandstone reservoir. The well is located in the PEDL150 licence, southwest of Lincoln, where Europa holds a 75% working interest.
Paul Barrett, managing director of Europa, said: “The PEDL143 extension is a response to the time taken to complete the planning process for the Holmwood-1 exploration well. We anticipate Surrey County Council Planning Department will be in a position to submit their recommendation to the Planning Committee in March 2010, which could see the well drilled in late 2010 or early 2011.”
The company said that with regards to Hykeham, DECC has accepted its technical arguments that a long test will be required to evaluate reserves volumes and plan for development.
