The operator of the Wressle oil site in North Lincolnshire said well testing would be completed early next year.

Egdon Resources said decisions were due to be made early in 2022 on the plateau production rate for the Wressle well, based on longer-term objectives and reservoir management.

The company began well testing in January 2021 and carried out a proppant squeeze (low volume form of hydraulic fracturing) in July 2021.

In a statement to investors, the company said the well had produced an average rate of 666 barrels of oil per day (bopd) over a seven-day period. Of this, revenue from 200 bopd would go to Egdon Resources, and the rest divided between partners Europa Oil & Gas (200 bopd) and Union Jack Oil (266 bopd).

The well also produced 368,000 cubic feet of gas over the same period, Egdon said.

The company had told the most recent meeting of the Wressle community liaison group (CLG) that the installed flare, which burns produced gas, had not performed as expected. The choke had been adjusted to reduce oil flow through the separator to ensure effective burning of gas in the flare, it said.

A secondary separator system had been designed, the company statement said, and was expected to be installed before the end of the year.

Next year, Egdon said it would move to “progressing the optimal method of gas monetisation”.

The Wressle site has planning permission for a gas engine, which would allow generation of electricity for export from the site. The company has also said it is looking at the possibility of piping gas to the local grid.

No formation water – a major cost for produced to date – had been produced at Wressle so far, the company added.

Egdon also said it was finalising plans to develop other hydrocarbon-bearing sequences at Wressle, particularly the Penistone Flags reservoir.

The statement said total company revenue for August-October 2021 was £1.085m. This was up on £0.173m for the same period in 2020.

The company said:

“The Wressle-1 well has continued to exceed our expectations since the successful completion of the proppant squeeze and subsequent coiled tubing operations on the 19 August 2021.”

Egdon said it aimed to automate operations at Wressle within about six months. This would allow the site to be staffed during the day only.

The company also commented at the CLG meeting on detection of methane from a separator tank at Wressle by the Clean Air Task Force in October 2021 (DrillOrDrop report). Egdon said it monitored and recorded gas releases from the oil on an hourly basis. It had consent to vent a small amount of methane and emissions at the site were within the limits of its permit.

Other Egdon plans

Biscathorpe, Lincolnshire: Planning permission for long-term oil production was refused on 1 November 2021, with a formal decision notice issued on 6 December. Egdon said: “We are currently reviewing in detail the reasons for refusal with our planning and legal advisors and considering our options which is likely to lead to an appeal”

North Kelsey, Lincolnshire: A planning application has been published for extending permission for 12 months and amending the proposed bottom hole target location for the well.

Keddington, Lincolnshire: Egdon said there was an opportunity to increase production with a new sidetrack in 2022 to the south east of the field. The well is allowed under the current planning permission. Egdon estimated it would add 85,000-120,000 barrels of recoverable oil. Additional exploration opportunities had also been identified for Keddington South, the company said.

Waddock Cross, Dorset: A proposed new horizontal well could produce 500-800 bopd, Egdon said. Planning consent and facilities were in place, it said. The well design had been completed and a decision would be made in 2022.