An appraisal well drilled by Corallian Energy Ltd. in England’s Wessex Basin encountered oil and gas shows over a 9.4-m interval at the top of the Sherwood Sandstone, according to a news release.

United Oil & Gas Plc, which holds a 10% interest in the P1918 license where the well was drilled, said Feb. 25 the find marks a separate discovery to the original appraisal target. Appraisal well 98/11a-6 was drilled by the Ensco-72 jackup rig to a total depth of 1,870 m as an appraisal of the 98/11-3 well drilled in 1986 by British Gas in the Colter prospect.

“A petrophysical evaluation of the LWD data has calculated a net pay of 3 meters,” United said in the release. “Similar indications of oil and gas were encountered in the 98/11-1 well, drilled in 1983 by British Gas, within the Colter South fault terrace.”

The two wells may have a common oil-water-contact, having both intersected the downdip margin of the Colter South prospect, United said, citing provisional analysis of the new data.

“This offers opportunity for future appraisal and to increase the overall value of the Colter license for our shareholders,” United Oil & Gas Plc CEO Brian Larkin said in the release. “More work will be required to determine the resource potential within the structure, and we will update shareholders on the outcome of the sidetrack well in the coming weeks.”

Plans are for the joint venture to sidetrack the 98/11a-6 well. The planned sidetrack, expected to take about two weeks to complete, will be drilled directionally to a Sherwood Sandstone target within the Colter prospect on the northern side of the bounding fault, the release said.

Before the appraisal well was drilled the Colter South prospect had an estimated mean recoverable volume of 15 million barrels.

Onshore