What a difference a few weeks makes. AJ Lucas (ASX: AJL) has jumped 19 per cent after confirmation all was not lost at a Lancashire gas field operated with Caudrilla (which it owns nearly half of).
5 weeks ago shareholders learned its gas field caused the largest fracking-induced earthquake to ever occur in the UK. Fracking was suspended and shares plummeted 36 per cent.
While fracking will not resume any time soon, Caudrilla is not giving up on the project. It will flow test the well within the next few weeks to examine how much gas could be there.
CEO Francis Egan argued there still was a “huge commercial opportunity” there. It would help the UK meet its energy needs without relying on imports and could help as a domestic feedstock for hydrogen production.
But Caudrilla has promised it will not frack until the Oil and Gas Authority’s investigation is complete and it will pay for damage caused.
Also, fracking equipment will be completely removed from the site and local environmentalists have declared they think this is the end of fracking in the UK.
AJ Lucas shares jumped 19 per cent this morning from this news but they were as high as 25 cents in the week before the tremor.
Energy: AJ Lucas’ well causes a 2.9 magnitude tremor; fracking is suspended
In other ASX small cap energy news today…
Winchester Energy (ASX: WEL) has reported its Arledge 16#2 well is intermittently flowing oil to the surface at rates of 200 and 300 barrels per day. To date it has recovered 1,700 barrels of oil and 540 of these have been sold. As for its Arledge 16#1 well, for which it abandoned operations last year, Winchester will now re-enter the well this month.
Uranium explorer Vimy Resources (ASX: VMY) has announced excellent geochemistry results which have identified prospective anomalies for uranium. These areas, which lie in the Alligator River uranium province in the Northern Territory, will be drill tested in 2020.
TerraCom (ASX: TER) has announced record coal sales in the September quarter. Overall it sold 921,119 tonnes, at an annualised rate of 3.68 million tonnes per annum. This was 11 per cent better than its prior record, achieved in the March quarter. Specifically at Blair Athol it sold 795,532 tonnes, 30 per cent better than the previous record set 12 months ago.
Having raised $3.8 million, Whitebark Energy (ASX: WBE) has expanded its acreage at Wizard Lake by 640 acres. It has another four potential well locations.