88 Energy (LON:88E, ASX:88E) said operations at the  Icewine-1 well in Alaska remain on budget despite being waylaid due to repairs needed to the rig.

Costs during this period have been minimised and the majority are not being borne by the joint venture, the firm noted today.

An engineer is now en route to site to carry out necessary repairs to the drawworks and is scheduled to arrive today (Tuesday).

The well is planned for a total depth of 11,600 feet and was scheduled to take 30 days to complete.

The next casing point is at around 10,450 feet before setting 7 inch casing and commencing coring operations in the lower Hue / upper HRZ, which is the primary target for the well.

Managing director Dave Wall said: “It is frustrating that a visa between the USA and Canada has held up repairs to the drawworks; however, minimal cost is being incurred during this downtime so we continue to remain within budget and should be back operating in the very near term.

“The geological objectives for the program have not been compromised and the anticipation continues to build as we get closer to achieving these.”

Shares eased 2.78% to 0.525p.

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