Cairn Energy pleased with oil flowing from Senegal appraisal well

Cairn Energy was "delighted" with the results of a second successful test well out of three drilled offshore Senegal, with oil flowing at rates that bode well for the wider field.

Oil from the SNE-3 appraisal well flowed at a maximum rate of 5,400 barrels of oil per day, with a second well gushing at around 5,200 bopd.

Drill stem test results confirmed similar reservoir quality and correlation of the principal reservoir units between SNE-1, SNE-2 and SNE-3, with 144 metres of continuous core taken across the entire reservoir interval with 100% recovery.

"Cairn is delighted with the flow rates from the latest well in the Senegal appraisal programme, which validate the scale and growth potential of the SNE field," said Simon Thomson, chief executive of the FTSE 250 company.

"The results have demonstrated the ability of the upper reservoirs to flow at commercially viable rates and we eagerly look forward to the results of the BEL-1 well which will commence operations shortly."