Rockhopper Looking good .

Sea Lion

I know I said I probably wouldn’t be able to blog this week on any specific news that filters through. However there’s an awful lot of interest in Rockhopper’s 14/10-4 appraisal well spudded on 19 February 2011. It’s the first appraisal well to be drilled on the Sea Lion feature which is 100% owned and operated by Rockhopper.

And as you all know I am not a fan of the Falklands oil mania that usually breaks out every now and then. But of all the companys currently involved in the Falklands Rockyhopper are the most viable and successful.

I’ve been speaking to many contacts re’ this latest drill and the news is that the RKH board are “quietly confident of a succesful drill ” Now whether that equates to further oil in place in the appraisal well is open to debate. The well is located 2.3km away from the Sea Lion discovery in the southern lobe of the Sea Lion fan system. “

14/10-4 is designed to investigate reservoir and hydrocarbon columns downdip of the Sea Lion 14/10-2 discovery well. The planned Target Depth of circa 3,000 metres will investigate the possibility of deeper sands than those encountered in the Sea Lion discovery well.The appraisal well is located 2.3km away from the Sea Lion discovery well, in the southern lobe of the Sea Lion fan system. 14/10-4 is designed to investigate reservoir and hydrocarbon columns downdip of the Sea Lion 14/10-2 discovery well. The planned Target Depth of circa 3,000 metres will investigate the possibility of deeper sands than those encountered in the Sea Lion discovery well.”

The drill has been progressing “very smoothly” and the whisper is that the feedback from operations/rig to the company has so far been ALL positive! If I was to be a betting man then I’d say that the chance of success here is far higher than Sam Moody/company would have us believe.

The recent RNS announced that RKH had entered into an assignment agreement to secure three additional well slots on the Ocean Guardian drilling rig. Rockhopper intends to utilise these  slots after Desire Petroleum completes drilling operations on its next well, which follows the appraisal well currently being drilled by Rockhopper. Rockhopper then went on to announce the new 3D seismic data to the south of the Sea Lion discovery well, on licence PL032, had been completed. The Company intends to fast track the processing of this data. It is anticipated that the resulting processed data will become available to the Company during July 2011.

Now here’s a pointer for investors; of all the companys out there RKH are seen by the market as the most likely of the Falkland oil explorers to bring home the bacon. Why? Well it’s all down to their approach. RKH have approached each drill with an ever-increasing understanding of the Basin. They have done their homework! And they are continuing to research their oil plays even after the drills this gives them a deeper understanding of what is beneath and how to map out the oil system from the ever burgeoning seismic data.

“Our understanding of the basin has advanced following the Sea Lion discovery, and will be further enhanced by our current appraisal operations, together with new seismic data. This information will be valuable in identifying our forward drilling programme.”

They are approx’ two thirds of the way through the current appraisal well which is only a mile or so away from the Sea Lion discovery. There’ll be no dust here ! Hydrocarbon shows will be encountered it’s the quantity and commerciality of those shows that is currently awaited.  Fingers crossed!

My opinion. The sp will spike as news of hydrocarbon shows begins to leak next week.

Viva!

Daniel