88 Energy Limited reported final preparations for the commencement of flow testing operations are advancing at the Hickory-1 well, located within 88 Energy's Project Phoenix acreage directly adjacent to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System and the Dalton Highway. Mobilisation operations are complete and pre-flow testing operations have advanced at the fully funded Hickory-1 discovery well, with current operations involving the testing of the blow-out preventers (BOP) installed on the wellhead. Two flow tests are scheduled, one each in the Upper SFS and SMD-B reservoirs, with each expected to take approximately ten days.

Prior to perforating the first zone, wellbore preparations are required which include removing the existing string in the well, drilling out of the plugs and cleaning out of the wellbore. Flow testing operations are set to deliver information critical to development planning, such as reservoir deliverability, fluid compositions, pressures and connectivity. Current operations involve testing of the BOP followed by retrieval of the kill string from within the well, drill out of plugs, clean-up of the wellbore and change-out to completion fluid.

This process is expected to span approximately five days. Testing operations will focus on the two primary targets, the Upper SFS and the SMD reservoirs, which together represent a mean, unrisked, multi-hundred-million-barrel oil resource. The Upper SFS reservoir will be tested first followed by the SMD-B reservoir.

Each zone will be independently isolated, stimulated and flowed to surface using nitrogen lift to assist in an efficient clean-up of the well. Perforation, completion-running and stimulation is expected to take approximately four days, followed by a clean-up and flow period of up to four days and a pressure build-up of up to two days for a total of ten days to complete each of the two flow tests.