Solo Oil (LON:SOLO) is looking forward to the spudding of the Horse Hill exploration well in Surrey, after the imminently scheduled drill programme was granted final environmental approvals.
The AIM quoted company has a deal in place to acquire 10% of the HHDL special purpose vehicle which will earn a 65% in the project as the well is drilled.
Drilling is expected to begin shortly, chief executive Neil Ritson said.
"Recent heavy rainfall in the area has delayed the completion of site construction works, however, the concrete cellar is on-site and is ready to install once the ground conditions allow.
“We are therefore looking forward to spudding of this important Horse Hill-1 well shortly."
Andrew Bell, chairman of Regency Mines, another AIM firm staked in HHDL, meanwhile, said: “This is, we believe, one of the largest if not the largest UK onshore prospect to have been drilled in recent decades.
“The potential impact of success would be considerable.”
Indeed, today’s stock market announcement follows an upbeat assessment from City broker Dowgate Capital, with analyst Jason Robertson saying Horse Hill could rival the 479mln barrel Wytch Farm field, on the south coast.
Such a result would play a key role in transforming the energy balance in the UK, he adds.
Solo and Regency aren’t alone in the venture which also features (as HHDL stakeholders) David Lenigas’s UK Oil & Gas Investments (LON:UKOG), Solo Oil(LON:SOLO), Stellar Resources (LON:STG), Doriemus (LON:DOR) and Alba Minerals (LON:ALBA).