Independent Oil and Gas Plc said Aug. 19 that it completed its first operated appraisal well on the Skipper oil discovery in Block 9/21a in License P1609 in the northern North Sea. The initial license commitment to drill a well into the Maureen Formation was completed.

The well was drilled to a total vertical depth of 5,578 ft, and retrieved good quality oil samples from the Skipper reservoir. The samples are now being analyzed in Aberdeen, Scotland, and initial results will be expected in September. If properties are confirmed, the Skipper Field will require fewer development wells, the company said.

The well completed its secondary objective to drill two mapped reservoir structures beneath the Skipper Field in the Lower Dornoch and Maureen formations. No hydrocarbons were encountered here, and the well will be plugged and abandoned.