Shares in Rockhopper Exploration jumped 7.8 per cent today following an update on flow tests at the potentially world class Sea Lion field in the North Falklands basin.
The UK-based company said that during an 18 hour test, the well flowed for sustained periods at over 2,000 barrels per day.
The group added that had it not been for several constraints on the well, it could have flowed at around 4,000 barrels per day.
With more optimal location, significantly higher rates could be achieved from future production wells, the company said.
The company announced last week that it thought the oil discovery offshore the Falklands Islands will be commercially viable, sending its shares to an all-time high. The Sea Lion well is the first oil find of an exploration programme being carried out in the region by a number of UK explorers.
However, the drilling has sparked some controversy in Argentina, which claims sovereignty over the islands it calls the Malvinas.
Rockhopper was established in February 2004 with a strategy to invest in and carry out an offshore oil exploration programme to the north of the Falkland Islands. The company floated on AIM in August 2005 and holds a 100 per cent interest in four offshore production licences.
Rockhopper drilled an exploration well on its Sea Lion prospect during April and May 2010, the result of which was the first oil discovery and contingent oil resource in the North Falkland Basin. The Sea Lion discovery was successfully tested during September 2010 and was the first oil to flow to surface in Falkland Islands waters.
