Dana Petroleum Plc (LON:DNX), the FTSE 250 oil and gas group has announced two new oil discoveries in Egypt including a successful exploration well in the North Zeit Bay production sharing contract area, onshore Gulf of Suez in Egypt, where it holds a 100% interest. The second discovery followed the successful drilling and testing of the Fayoum-2x well in the East Beni Suef concession, onshore Egypt, where Dana holds a 50% working interest. The news was dampened slightly by two disappointing wells – Bamboo in Egypt and Monkwell in the UK North Sea – which have turned out to be unsuccessful.

Dana said the Lorcan-1x well in North Zeit Bay had been drilled to a total depth of 7,500 feet, encountering good quality oil bearing sands in the Kareem formation in line with its prognosis prior to drilling. During the drill stem test, the well flowed strongly with high downhole pressures delivering flow rates of up to 4,714 barrels of oil per day. Dana is understood to be in discussion with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) in order to achieve early production from the Lorcan oil field. The company has now moved the rig to drill the Fin-1x exploration well, which has now spudded. The Fin-1x well is expected to take approximately 45 days to drill with the key aim being to prove up further oil reserves on trend with the Lorcan oil discovery.

At the Fayoum-2x well, oil was discovered in the Upper Bahariya formation, with net pay of 64 feet, and in the A/R G-20 sands, with net pay of 10 feet. Test data indicates that the well should be capable of flowing at oil rates of approximately 600 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The operator is currently progressing plans to bring this new discovery on stream.

Elsewhere Dana’s 2010 drilling programme, operations have now been completed on the Bamboo well, offshore Nile Delta in Egypt, where Dana holds a 50% stake. Having reached the planned TD of approximately 12,533 feet, significant good quality sands were encountered in the primary target, however petrophysical interpretation of the logs acquired across the reservoir interval indicates that these sands are water bearing. Elsewhere, a 16 feet interval of sands with gas shows has been encountered in the Kafer el Sheikh formation which requires a more detailed sub surface interpretation. Dana…

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