Stella work delivers ‘outstanding’ results for Ithaca

Oil firm Ithaca has unveiled “highly successful” test results from the first well drilled at its Stella field in the North Sea east of Aberdeen.

The group said the “outstanding results, including a limited flow rate of 10,835 barrels of oil equivalent per day, formed an “enormous leap forward” in the de-risking of the project.

“The well has accessed the reserves it was designed to recover and the test confirms the presence and extremely high quality and deliverability of the reservoir sands,” said chief executive Iain McKendrick.

Samples have concluded that the hydrocarbons discovered have high oil content, with estimates suggesting full-scale production equivalents of 6,499 barrels of oil and 26 million standard cubic feet of liquid rich gas per day. A second well will now be drilled.

The company also said the subsea infrastructure works crucial to the success of the $590m wider Greater Stella Area project were making “excellent progress”, with likely costs unchanged.

The company’s share price more than 14% higher at 144.75p.