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Oil & Gas Round-Up: 20 November

20 November 2009

Testing of Petroceltic International's (PCI) INE-2 well, in Algeria, has been declared successful, with a gas test rate of 4 million standard cubic feet per day. The flow rate was achieved without the benefit of the fracture stimulation which proved successful in testing on the AT-1 well.

Afren's (AFR) Ebok-5 appraisal well, offshore Nigeria, has been completed and the results exceeded expectations. The well encountered a total gross oil column of 266 ft in the D1 and LD-1E reservoir sands, in addition to a further 54 ft of gross oil pay in the D2 and LD1F reservoirs.

Global Petroleum (GBP) has announced that the fifth Leighton production well (Tyler Ranch #4), in Texas, has flowed 480 boepd from the Olmos reservoir comprising oil and gas at the rates of 410bopd and 425mcfgpd. Global Petroleum has a 15% working interest in the Leighton Project.

Amerisur Resources (AMER) said the Iguasa-1 well in the 100% owned Fenix block in Colombia has reached TD, and rig up for testing operations is ongoing. Testing of the first interval is expected to take approximately 12 days.

Empyrean Energy's (EME) Quinn 3H well at the Riverbend Project, onshore Texas, has reached TD and will be completed for production testing. A sales pipeline is already connected to the well site allowing for the well to be production tested direct to sales. Empyrean is earning a 10% working interest in the Riverbend Project.

Empyrean Energy also expects fracture stimulation of the Kennedy-1H, Kowalik-1H and Weston-1H wells at its Sugarloaf project in Texas, to commence in December.

Aminex (AEX) has farmed out a 12.5% interest in the Likonde-1 well in Tanzania to Solo Oil (SOLO). Likonde-1 is the first well scheduled to be drilled on Aminex's Ruvuma Production Agreement in southern Tanzania with spud likely to occur in about two months. Aminex currently has a 50% interest in the Ruvuma PSA and the remaining 50% is held by Tullow Oil which is the operator.

In Kazakhstan, Max Petroleum's (MXP) ZMA-AN2 development well in the Zhana Makat Field, has reached total depth with well logs indicating 8 metres of net oil pay in the Neocomian sandstone reservoir in line with expectations. The well will be completed and tested in the next two weeks. The drilling rig is moving to drill the ZMA-A12 development in the Zhana Makat Field.

Victoria Oil & Gas (VOG) said that Well La-105 at the Logbaba project in Cameroon encountered approximately 90 feet of gas bearing gross sandstone pay in the 12-¼ inch hole section. Drilling has reached a depth of 6,200 feet and is anticipated to reach total depth of around 10,300 feet within four weeks.

Oilex (OEX) has spud the Loré-1 well, the first well of a 2 well program in the Timor Sea contract area JPDA 06-103. The Loré-1 well is targeting a prospect with mean prospective oil resources of 195 million barrels (100% basis). The well is anticipated to be completed by late December 2009.

Offshore Hydrocarbon Mapping (OHM) has entered into a strategic partnership with the Bureau of Geophysical Prospecting in China (BGP) to provide marine CSEM survey design, acquisition and processing services to BGP. The first survey under the agreement, offshore Equatorial Guinea, will commence in late November. The contract value is approximately $2.5 million.

Serica Energy (SQZ) has entered into a new US$100 million senior secured revolving credit facility to replace its previous facility of a similar amount. The new facility, which has been arranged with J.P.Morgan, Bank of Scotland and Natixis is for a term of three years. The facility is principally to refinance the Company's outstanding borrowings on the Kambuna field which commenced production of gas and condensate in August of this year.

Solo Oil (SOLO) has raised £6.4 million in a placing of new shares at 0.5 pence per share. The proceeds will be used to farm in to the Likonde- 1 well scheduled to be drilled on the Ruvuma production agreement in southern Tanzania. The balance is expected to be used to strengthen the company's balance sheet and for general working capital purposes.

Ryder Scott has downgraded its estimate of Stratic Energy's ultimately recoverable (net) reserves from the West Don field in the North Sea by 9% from 3.49 million barrels to 3.17 million barrels. Stratic noted however that the effect of water injection was beginning to have a positive effect.

And finally, six years after the event, Regal Petroleum (RPT) has been publicly censured and fined £600,000 by London Stock Exchange. Regal Petroleum breached AIM Rules 9 and 10 relating to Regal's notifications during the period from 27 June 2003 to 19 May 2005, about two exploration wells drilled within the Kallirachi Prospect, in the North Aegean Sea. Since the breaches were committed, the senior management of Regal has been replaced.