Corallian’s Wick well off UK comes up dry

Corallian Energy has failed to encounter hydrocarbons at its Wick exploration well located in License P2235 off the UK.

Corallian started drilling the 11/24b-4 well using the Ensco-72 jack-up drilling rig in late December. Corallian is the operator of License P2235 and Baron Oil is one of its partners with a 15% working interest. 

Baron Oil informed on Wednesday that well 11/24b-4, on the Wick prospect, had not been successful. Drilling operations have been completed and the well will now be plugged and abandoned, without testing, before the Ensco-72 drilling rig moves to the English Channel to drill the Colter well.

The 11/24b-4 exploration well was drilled to a total depth of 1,000m. The primary target of the well, the Beatrice Sandstone, was encountered at a depth of 933.5m but was interpreted to be water bearing. Provisional petrophysical analyses indicate that the Beatrice Sandstone has a gross thickness of 22.8m with 19.8m of net sandstone of 17.2% average porosity.

Malcolm Butler, Chairman and CEO of Baron, commented: “This is a very disappointing result for the Wick well. We will now review the results to determine the reasons for the failure of the well and its implications for the Wick structural complex as a whole.

“The Ensco-72 rig will now be moved to the English Channel to drill the Colter well on Block 98/11a. With gross, unrisked, recoverable mean Prospective Resources of 23 million barrels of oil equivalent, estimated to be present in this structure by Corallian Energy Limited, the Operator, success with this well will have a material impact on the value of the Company. Baron Oil has an 8% interest in Colter.”