Oil and Gas Corporate News
Max Petroleum (LON:MXP) plc (BUY, £0.50) (MXP, 13p, ? 1.89%) provided a production update for the Zhana Makat Field. The ZMA-ET1 well has been connected to temporary production facilities for long-term production testing and is currently producing at a stable rate of approximately 650 bopd barrels of oil per day ("bopd") from perforations in the T4 Triassic reservoir at depths from 1,282 to 1,288 metres. The current production rate has been restricted to 650 bopd while the Company monitors the level of gas production from the well. The Company has also perforated the ZMA-ET2 appraisal well, successfully flowing 48 degree API oil at an equivalent rate of approximately 450 bopd from perforations in the T5 Triassic reservoir from depths of 1,315 to 1,321 metres during a limited flow-back period. The well will be connected to temporary production facilities and brought onto long-term production testing in August 2011. The Company expects the well to produce at a stabilised rate of approximately 500 bopd. The Company is on track to increase aggregate daily production during the current quarter to approximately 3,500 bopd, which is a significant milestone for the Company
Matra (BUY, £0.07) (MTA, 2.675p, ? 2.88%) announced an update on operations in the Sokolovskoe Field, Russia. The planned workover on well-12 was completed at the end of June by installing a production packer, with the intention of isolating the productive zones in the well. The well was returned to production by swabbing on 2 July and has been on production since that time. During this period the well has averaged 352 bpd with a water cut of around 42% (net 203 bopd). Fluid loss from the annulus confirmed a leak in the casing/liner system, although installation of the production packer has not stopped water production as intended. Well-12 was drilled through the oil-water-contact ('OWC') and encountered various operational problems during drilling and side-tracking, making definitive analysis difficult. Well performance has been reduced by the presence of water in the tubing and the high viscosity of the resulting oil/water emulsion. At the current time, the source of the water has not been identified and the well will continue on production and to be monitored. It is planned that future wells will be terminated above the OWC thereby facilitating good cement bonding and zone isolation. The independent study carried out last year…
