Oil & Gas Corporate News
Max Petroleum (LON:MXP) plc (BUY, 50p) (MXP, 14.00p, ? 5.08%) announced an update of its drilling operations in the Blocks A&E licence area in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Company has completed drilling the ZLGS-1 exploration well on the Zhalgyz South prospect in Block A. The well reached a total depth of 1,435 metres without encountering producible hydrocarbons and will be plugged and abandoned. The Zhanros ZJ-20 drilling rig will now move on to drill the KZIE-2 appraisal well, testing Jurassic reservoirs in the recently discovered East KyzylzharI Field in Block E. The ZMA-A19 appraisal well has been spudded in the Zhana Makat Field. The total depth of the well will be approximately 950 metres targeting Jurassic reservoirs. The Saipem drilling rig is on location and currently being commissioned to begin drilling the NUR-1 well on the Emba B prospect in Block E. The Company expects the well to spud within the next few days once the rig is accepted to commence operations.
Afren (LON:AFR) plc (AFR, 90.00p, ? 9.09%) announced that further to the announcement of 27th July, the Company has completed the acquisition of interests in two contiguous Production Sharing Contracts located in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, a 60% participating interest in the Barda Rash PSC and a non-operated 20% participating interest in the Ain Sifni PSC, for a total acquisition cost of US$588.25 million. Afren has also executed a US$200 million secured term loan facility (the "Loan Facility") in connection with the Acquisition. The facility has a maturity of 18 months, with quarterly repayments commencing six months following the date of draw down.
Ascent Resources (LON:AST) plc (AST, 3.42p, ? 6.16%) has completed initial testing operations following the successful fracture stimulation of the Pg-11A well at the Petiovci Project ('the Project') in Slovenia. After cleaning out the three pumped stages the stabilised gas flow rate of 2.1 MMscfd and approximately 50 bpd of condensate was achieved. The combined gas and condensate production rate was c.400 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Pg-11A will now be prepared for production with the installation of a customised production string to optimise the flow rate and gas recovery. Halliburton's equipment will now be moved to the Pg-10 well where fracture stimulation operations will commence in the coming days.
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