Hurricane Energy falls as Shetland well abandoned

Shares of West of Shetland oil and gas explorer Hurricane Energy plc plummeted 19% on Monday after it said it had plugged and abandoned the Warwick Deep well because it “did not flow at commercial rates.”

In a stock exchange statement Hurricane Energy said: “Following completion of drill stem testing of the Warwick Deep well, the decision has been made to plug and abandon the well …

“Initial analysis indicates that the well intersected a poorly connected section of the fracture network within the oil column.

“The well did not flow at commercial rates producing a mixture of drilling brine, water, oil and gas …”

Hurricane CEO Robert Trice said: “It is disappointing that the Warwick Deep well did not flow at commercial rates.

“We were initially encouraged by hydrocarbon shows and gas ratio analysis indicative of light oil, however drill stem testing has clearly demonstrated that Warwick Deep cannot be considered suitable as a future production well and therefore the well will be plugged and abandoned.

“I look forward to commencing operations on the second well in the three-well programme, Lincoln Crestal.

“This is now the preferred candidate to be tied back to the Aoka Mizu FPSO, where Lancaster EPS production operations remain in-line with guidance.”