Broker snap: Westhouse still a buyer of Rockhopper

24th Sep 2010 13:45

Investors perturbed by Rockhopper Exploration's problems with its flow test on the Sea Lion 1 well in the North Falkland basin should rest easy, Westhouse Securities said, as there was nothing in the rest results which cannot be mitigated by engineering solutions, albeit at additional cost.The good news is that testing improved the commerciality of the Sea Lion Discovery. In the company's view, had all four of the intervals tested contributed to the test flow, instead of just two because of problems with perforations, the well could have flowed at about 4,000 barrels per day.The broker has reiterated its "buy" recommendation on the stock. Westhouse has a target price of 649p for Rockhopper.