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  • Whitebark has cleared some metal debris blocking a big section of its Rex-1 hole in the Canadian Wizard Lake project
  • The debris was found when Whitebark reviewed the well while it waited to production facilities to clear up some space
  • The oil and gas explorer hit production capacity when it struck unexpected success from its Rex-2 well in September
  • Whitebark now expected to see better results from Rex-1 when production reopens in December
  • Whitebark shares closed flat today, worth 0.8 cents each

Whitebark Energy has been making efficient use of down-time by clearing up its Rex-1 well while awaiting production space to clear up.

The oil and gas explorer hit production capacity after striking some unexpected success at its Rex-2 at the Wizard Lake project in Alberta, Canada.

Subsequently, the Rex-1 well was shut in while the company had to process the over-production from Rex-2 — a good kind of problem to have as an oil explorer.

Wanting to make the most of the idle time, Whitebark took on the task of gathering information from Rex-1 to figure out why Rex-2 had such a stronger performance given the proximity of the projects.

The company was met with some bittersweet news as it discovered some metal debris in the hole, which it promptly recovered and cleared.

This means the debris was likely blocking a significant portion of the hole during oil production — bad news because it means the well was potentially under-performing, but good news because it means the well could be far more successful than originally thought.

Once the well reopens for production, which is planned for December, it could be producing two to three times what it had been before now that the obstruction has been removed.

Whitebark Managing Director David Messina said the discovery was unexpected.

“We were very surprised to find an obstruction in the well, particularly after the procedures taken to clear the debris when it was drilled,” David said.

The company suspects the debris was dragged back up the hole during the original recovery operation which is why it went unnoticed after Whitebark first cleared debris.

“It is highly unusual for debris to be dragged back up, but pleasingly it does indicate that we have a lot more to see from Rex-1,” he said.

Whitebark shares saw a steady incline over today’s trading session but dropped suddenly around 2:00 pm AEDT to close at the same price as yesterday. Shares in the company are worth 0.8 cents each in a $20.36 million market cap.

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