Operational update

RNS Number : 8830J

Ascent Resources PLC

05 April 2018

 

Ascent Resources plc / Epic: AST / Index: AIM / Sector: Oil and Gas

05 April 2018

Ascent Resources plc

("Ascent" or the "Company")

Operational update

Ascent Resources plc (AIM: AST), the AIM quoted European oil and gas exploration and production company, is pleased to update shareholders on operations at the Petisovci concession in Slovenia.

Pg-10

Pg-10 continues to perform in line with expectations.  The well has been in production since April 2017 and has produced nearly 10 million cubic metres (0.3 BCF) of gas to date. 

Pg-11A

During March, we carried out an operation at Pg-11A to remove a choke and some stuck tooling left downhole at the end of the workover operation in August 2017.  At the time it was expected that the well would flow satisfactorily with the restriction in place.  However, the performance of the well since September has been sub-optimal and so the operation to remove the tooling and the choke was carried out.

The operation began on 14 March and the well was put back into production on 28 March 2018, the tooling having been removed and the tubing opened significantly, although part of a mandrel remains stuck at 2,200 metres. 

As the water column has not yet been fully removed from the well, the flow rates and pressure have not yet fully recovered.  Ascent's engineers are currently working to remove the water and allow gas to flow freely to the surface again.

The impact of the work carried out at Pg-11A is unlikely to be clear for some time.

The exercise required the well to be shut-in for a large part of March, which resulted in lower gas sales in March than in previous periods.

March production

Production for March, which was scaled back because of the Pg-11A workover, was 1,242,948 cubic metres (43,894 MCF) down from 1,787,616 cubic metres (63,129 MCF) for February 2018.  

The average price of gas at the CEGH hub for the month of March 2018 was €21.84 per MwH, being 29% higher than in the corresponding period in 2017.

IPPC Permit

The studies required for the baseline report have been completed and the report is due to be submitted on 6 April 2018.

Colin Hutchinson, CEO of Ascent Resources plc commented:

"I am pleased that the bulk of the workover operation at Pg-11A is close to completion and look forward to well Pg-11A once again contributing to the Company's profitability. 

The increase in the average gas price achieved is welcome and has resulted in higher than anticipated revenues enabling us to fund the Pg-11A workover operation from cash flows"   

Enquiries:

Ascent Resources plc Clive Carver, Chairman Colin Hutchinson, CEO	0207 251 4905
WH Ireland, Nominated Adviser & Broker James Joyce / Alex Bond	0207 220 1666
Yellow Jersey, Financial PR and IR Tim Thompson / Harriet Jackson / Henry Wilkinson	0203 735 8825

 

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