Wells drilled at the Lidsey wellsite in West Sussex were probably on the edge of the oil reservoir, rather than the crest, the site operator has announced.

In a statement today, Angus Energy said it would now look for a new drilling target from the site near Bognor Regis.

It said previous seismic mapping had underestimated the size and shape of the reservoir. Reprocessing of the Lidsey seismic data now suggested:

“the likelihood that both wells X1 and X2 have been addressing the flank or edge of the structure rather than its crest.”

The company said it would acquire new seismic data and reprocess the existing seismic lines. It said:

“Angus will reinterpret and remap the field using the new data with the aim of identifying a new drilling target.”

A company presentation said Angus aimed to sidetrack the first well, Lidsey-X1 well. The second well, X2, would be used for reservoir support. Further wells would need new planning applications and Environment Agency approval, the presentation said.

Angus said it would try to farmout drilling the sidetrack or find other forms of financing. This was subject to getting permissions and providing there was no “wholly unexpected remapping”, it said.

In 2016, the Angus admission document to the AIM stock market predicted gross production from Lidsey at 279 barrels of oil per day (bopd) in the first year.

But production has been disappointing and never came close to reaching this level.

Angus said the first well, Lidsey-X1, produced an average of 25 bopd before it was shut-in on 31 January 2016. The company said it came back into production in March 2018. The X2 well, a sidetrack drilled in October 2017, had initial flow rates of 40 barrels of oil per day, according to the company.

Data from the Oil & Gas Authority for 2020 shows that up to October (the most recent figures available), the site produced for just three months and in small quantities. The rate was nearly 5 bopd in January 2020, 3.5 bopd in February 2020 and nearly 8 bopd in March 2020.

Angus chief executive George Lucan said today:

“Lidsey was one of the two oil fields which supported the launch of Angus onto the AIM at its initial public offering in 2016.

“Expectations were for over 250 barrels a day and the disappointment at low flow rates in late 2017 was one of two defining moments for the Company in its early years on the market.”

He said:

“The Company believes that the Field has more potential than previously considered and that our technical view concerning depth conversion and seismic interpretation will shortly be incontrovertibly confirmed by the addition on further short seismic line. This has already been budgeted for.”