OIL COMPANY Hurricane Energy said on Monday that its Lancaster discovery, west of Shetland, could be significantly more productive than initially expected.

The company’s chief executive Robert Trice said that the field could produce single well rates of 20,000 barrels of oil a day, double the amount reported back in July.

“I am delighted to report that our work on the well data gathered during the recent testing of Lancaster confirms our pre-drill geological model of the fractured basement, as well as significantly advancing our understanding of how the fracture network behaves,” he said.

“Importantly, the key metrics related to oil productivity are even better than expected providing us with further encouragement regarding the productive potential of Lancaster and our other basement assets.”

The field near the Foinaven and Schiehallion reservoirs is fully owned by the Surrey-based company and is calculated to hold 207 million barrels of oil equivalent.