88 Energy share price stabilises at one-year lows

The 88 Energy (LON:88E) share price held steady on Thursday after sharp declines in the wake of an announcement their Icewine drilling activities would be halted until the spring next year.

Shares in 88 Energy traded at 1.09p on Thursday having fallen over 50 percent over the past two weeks. The delay is a massive set back for investor who were hoping to receive an update on the results of flow tests which started in July of this year.

“Whilst it is frustrating to have to wait over the Winter season for the continued flow test of the HRZ, there are several encouraging signs observed from this most recent phase of testing. Given the early stage nature of our appraisal program, we need to have patience and remain open minded as there is no benchmark against which to track the progress of this particular unconventional play,” said Managing Director Dave Wall.

The company said it was not possible to continue operations due to logistical reasons including the freezing of borehole fluid.

The Icewine project is located in the Northern slopes of Alaska and the artic conditions are infamous for hampering drilling projects in the winter months. The unconventional nature of the Icewine project adds further difficulties to successful flow testing.

Despite the setback, the company remained confident of the commercial viability of the project and said operations would begin in April/May 2018.

The sharp drop in the share price could represent investors annoyance at the delay as opposed to a failure of the wider project.

Shares in 88 Energy (LON:88E) traded with a bid of 1.09p on Thursday morning at 10.30am.