Cuadrilla Resources has completed its Balcombe exploration drilling operations and confirmed the presence of hydrocarbons, the company said in a news release. Additional testing will be required to determine flow rates.

On-site operations involved the drilling of a vertical exploration well to an approximate depth of 823 m (2,700 ft), collecting 90 m (294 ft) of rock samples, or cores, on the way. The company also said it carried out a set of advanced petrophysical logs which provide valuable data about the characteristics of the underground rock and the fluids contained in those rocks.

As per UK requirements, cores from the vertical well have already been divided between Cuadrilla and the British Geological Survey, who maintain a record of all UK drilling.

In addition to the vertical well, a horizontal well was drilled through the middle Kimmeridge Micrite, which is a band of limestone rock within the Kimmeridge Clay formation, Cuadrilla said in the release. A total distance of some 518 m (1,700 ft) of horizontal drilling was achieved, drilling in a direction of just south of due west under the Balcombe estate. Using geo-steering technology, the entire distance was successfully drilled within the target limestone.