Horizon Petroleum Completes Successful Flow Testing at the Lachowice-7 Gas Well in Southern Poland

Horizon’s Lachowice-7 well delivers strong test flows, but commercialization is years away.

What the company is saying

Horizon Petroleum Ltd. is highlighting the completion of the main flow portion of production testing at the Lachowice-7 well in Poland, presenting this as a significant operational milestone. The company, through CEO Dr David Winter, frames the results as validating its strategy to bring the Lachowice gas development into production, emphasizing the acceleration of plans for an Early Production Phase targeting Q3 2027. Management stresses the technical success—citing high permeability, strong short-term flow rates, and substantial gas volumes produced during testing—as evidence of the reservoir’s commercial potential. The narrative is optimistic, focusing on the potential for early cash flow via power generation and CNG sales, but repeatedly notes that further technical, engineering, commercial, and regulatory steps are required. The announcement is careful to caveat that all forward plans depend on the outcome of the current 30-day pressure build-up period and subsequent analysis. The tone is confident but acknowledges that no reserves or resources have yet been attributed to the well based on these results.

What the data suggests

The disclosed data show that the Lachowice-7 well underwent a multi-phase production test, including a 30-hour cleanup flow (final rate: 4.95 MMcf/d at 2,100 psi), an eight-hour pre-main-flow test (peak: 6.75 MMcf/d at 2,362 psi), and a six-day main flow test (declining from 5 MMcf/d at 2,550 psi to 2.5 MMcf/d at 1,900 psi on an 18/64-inch choke). Approximately 4,500 barrels of completion fluid were injected, with 1,680 barrels (37%) recovered, indicating a highly permeable, naturally fractured reservoir. Cumulative production during testing totaled 26.5 million cubic feet of gas and 170 barrels of condensate. The average surface pressure drawdown was 25%, consistent with expectations for this reservoir type. These results provide evidence of gas deliverability but are based on short-term tests and are not indicative of long-term production rates. No financial metrics, binding offtake agreements, or resource estimates are disclosed, and the company explicitly warns that these test rates should not be interpreted as sustainable production. The project remains at a pre-commercialization stage, with all forward plans contingent on further technical and regulatory milestones.

Analysis

The announcement provides detailed and credible operational data from the Lachowice-7 well, including flow rates, pressures, and fluid recovery, which supports the claim of a completed production testing milestone. However, the tone is notably positive and forward-looking, emphasizing 'accelerated plans' and 'significant operational milestone' language. The majority of the commercial and financial benefits (production, cashflow, power generation, CNG sales) are projected for the third quarter of 2027, nearly two years away, and are explicitly subject to further technical evaluation, engineering, commercial arrangements, financing, and regulatory approvals. There is no disclosure of committed capital, signed offtake, or binding agreements for the next phase, and no financial metrics (revenue, profit, cash flow) are provided. The narrative inflates the signal by framing the operational milestone as a major step toward commercialization, but the actual path to revenue remains long-dated and uncertain, with substantial capital requirements implied by references to facilities engineering and full-scale development.

Risk flags

• ●Commercialization is contingent on multiple dependencies, including technical evaluation, facilities engineering, commercial arrangements, financing, and regulatory approvals. Any delay or failure in these areas could push back or jeopardize the Early Production Phase.
• ●The flow test results, while encouraging, are short-term and not necessarily indicative of sustainable long-term production or economic viability. The company has not attributed reserves or resources to the well, and future analysis may reveal lower deliverability or higher decline rates.
• ●The timeline to first production is long, with the earliest cash flow targeted for Q3 2027. This exposes the project to market, regulatory, and financing risks over an extended period, with no binding agreements or committed capital disclosed.
• ●A significant portion of injected completion fluid (63%) remains unrecovered in the formation, which could impact reservoir performance or complicate future production operations. The company’s interpretation that most fluid will remain in the formation is untested until long-term production data are available.

Bottom line

Horizon Petroleum’s operational update from the Lachowice-7 well in Poland demonstrates strong short-term gas flows and a highly permeable reservoir, with 26.5 million cubic feet of gas produced during testing. The company is targeting first production and cash flow in Q3 2027 via power generation and potential CNG sales, but all commercial outcomes remain contingent on further technical analysis, engineering, financing, and regulatory approvals. No reserves or resources have been booked, and no binding commercial agreements or funding commitments are in place. The path to value realization is long and exposed to multiple execution risks, with the next catalyst being the results of the 30-day pressure build-up analysis. The most important takeaway is that while the test results are positive, the project remains early-stage and years from delivering revenue.

Announcement summary

(TSXV:HPL) Horizon Petroleum Ltd. announced that its wholly owned Polish subsidiary, Energia Karpaty Zachodnie sp. z o.o. (EKZ), has completed the main flow portion of the production testing program at the Lachowice-7 (L7) well in the Bielsko-Biala concession in southern Poland. The L7 well has been shut in for a planned 30-day pressure build-up period, after which the company expects to finalize an initial production commercialization plan for the property. Dr David Winter, CEO of Horizon Petroleum Ltd., stated that the successful completion of the production flow testing is a significant operational milestone as the company advances plans to bring the Lachowice gas development into production. The company has accelerated plans to commence first production and cashflow through an Early Production Phase targeting the third quarter of 2027. The development objective is to establish power generation and potential compressed natural gas (CNG) sales, subject to completion of technical evaluations, facilities engineering planning and design, commercial arrangements, and regulatory approvals. The nitrified acid stimulation program was completed on September 23, 2026, and the well was flowed back through temporary, on-site production testing equipment following mechanical workover operations and acid stimulation. Approximately 4,500 barrels of completion fluid were lost into the formation during workover and stimulation operations, indicating a highly permeable, naturally fractured reservoir. Production was initiated using coiled tubing and nitrogen to unload the well. The testing program included a 30-hour cleanup flow period, a pre-main-flow test, and a six-day main flow test on a restricted choke. During the 30-hour cleanup flow period, the final recorded flow rate was 4.95 MMcf/d at a flowing wellhead pressure of 2,100 psi on a 24/64-inch choke. In the pre-main-flow test, the final recorded flow rate was 6.75 MMcf/d at a flowing wellhead pressure of 2,362 psi on a 24/64-inch choke. Over the six days of the main flow period, gas flow rates started at 5 MMcf/d with a wellhead flowing pressure of 2,550 psi, declining to 2.5 MMcf/d at a flowing pressure of 1,900 psi on an 18/64-inch choke size. The average surface pressure drawdown was 25% based on surface pressure data. To date, approximately 1,680 barrels of completion fluid have been recovered, representing approximately 37% of the injected volume. Across all phases of the flow testing program, Lachowice-7 produced a total of approximately 26.5 million cubic feet (MMcf) of natural gas, 170 barrels of condensate, and 1,680 barrels of completion fluid. The company is now accelerating efforts to commence an Early Production Phase targeting the third quarter of 2027, with a commercialization strategy objective to establish initial electricity sales through a gas to power facility and pursue opportunities for CNG sales. The timing and scope of the Early Production Phase will depend on ongoing technical evaluation, engineering and facilities planning, and is subject to commercial arrangements, financing, and regulatory approvals. Horizon Petroleum Ltd. will provide a further update following completion and interpretation of the 30-day pressure build-up data.

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