Hurricane Energy (HUR) this week completed drilling at its Halifax discovery and the preliminary results, once again, are highly encouraging. The oil down to measurement - the lowest point at which hydrocarbons were encountered - came in at 1,846m, deeper than the 1,678m measured at the Lancaster field. The other significant find was a 1,156m oil column, which had analysts purring and caused a further jump in the Aim-traded explorer's share price.
The drilling also supports the theory put forward by chief executive Dr Robert Trice - that Halifax and Lancaster are part of the same hydrocarbon accumulation, albeit 30km apart - although further work needs to be done to prove this. As production has been carried, WH Ireland expects a pre-tax profit loss of just £5.6m for 2016 (0.5p loss per share).
