88 Energy on track for February spud at Charlie-1

88 Energy updated the market on the upcoming drilling of the Charlie-1 appraisal well at Project Icewine, on the Central North Slope in Alaska on Friday, reporting that the initial snow trail from the Dalton Highway was now complete.

The AIM-traded firm said ice road construction was on track to begin “within days”, adding that operational activity for Charlie-1 was progressing to plan for a spud in February.

It explained that Nordic Rig 3 would exit the Dalton Highway around 20 miles south of Deadhorse before it begins its 30-mile journey on an ice road to the Charlie-1 location.

Everything was proceeding as planned, ahead of the scheduled spud date, the board confirmed.

“It has been a successful year for the Company, having matured part of the conventional potential at Project Icewine to the point of a farm-out that makes a lot of sense for our shareholders,” said managing director Dave Wall.

“We are now on the cusp of drilling a potentially transformational well, Charlie-1, in the first quarter of 2020 and are looking forward to a safe and successful operation.”

At 1437 GMT, shares in 88 Energy were up 4.37% at 1.12p.