Resources round-up: Nostra Terra, Nighthawk, Sunrise

US-focused oil and gas producer Nostra Terra is to abandon work on the first well drilled at its Bale Creek prospect to concentrate on the second well drilled, which is now producing oil at a rate of 2.5 barrels per hour.

Nighthawk Energy, a US-focused shale oil development and production company, said the Knoss 6-21 well at its Jolly Ranch prospect in Colorado, is to be brought into commercial production during November. The well is the third drilled in the current programme. The drilling revealed that the average oil/water ratio was around 25/75 for the combined formations and the total amount of oil recovered was over 180 barrels, indicating oil production potential under pumping conditions above 200 barrels a day for the well.

Sunrise Resources, the mineral exploration and development specialist has had some disappointing news from the scoping study of its Derryginagh barite project in Ireland. The study suggests that the project will need to be a lot larger than Sunrise planned on in order to be financially viable.

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"In all scenarios considered by the study, the project shows good operating costs margins but the project has moved away from the original low capital cost concept as metallurgical test work results dictated a more complex plant design than originally envisaged. In addition tonnage estimates are necessarily constrained by the drilling carried out so far," admitted Sunrise's Executive Chairman, Patrick Cheetham. The group is to step up its discussions with industry partners interested in exploiting the resource.

JH