Rathlin Energy has confirmed that it began to mobilise equipment today to complete and test the well at its West Newton B site in East Yorkshire.
The well, known as WNB-1z is a sidetrack drilled in November 2020 into the Kirkham Abbey formation.
In an update on its website, Rathlin said the equipment includes a workover rig, well test package, incinerators and a wireline unit. This would be installed during the first of about six weeks of operations, the company said.
Reports from outside the site said the workover rig had been delivered by 9am today.
After the equipment has been installed, the well will be completed. This is the operation to bring a well into production and will include perforation of the casing and well treatment, Rathlin said. The well test would then follow.
Rathlin said installation and completion work would take place between 7am and 7pm. Well testing would be 24-hours a day, seven days a week.
Deliveries would be planned for 7am-7pm, Monday to Saturday, the company added. It also said there would be security and wellsite supervision 24-hours a day, seven days a week.
When the WNB-1z well had been tested, Rathlin said it planned to move equipment and personnel to the nearby West Newton A site to begin testing the WNA-2 well.
DRILL OR DROP? 
Interestingly there has been no mention of any road closures around the site during the mobilisation, even though interest in the subject has been generated previously on DOD with several reports, the latest being “Rathlin seeks second 18-month road closure around West Newton-B well site” on May 12th 2021.
In that report Rathlin commented “The roads shall only be closed during operations when deemed necessary. It is not our intention to close the roads for the full 18 months. Furthermore, if the roads can be kept open without undue risk to road users, then we shall endeavour to continue our operations as originally intended without closing the roads.”
Only Engine/Crook Lane that runs adjacent to the well site has been closed so far for the mobilisation and testing at West Newton B.
Pasture Lane where the entry point for the access road to the site is located, the location from where the photo was taken and which was closed during the last mobilisation and drilling periods, remains open at this time even though it is still covered by the temporary road closure order.