Petisovci Project Update

RNS Number : 2893I

Ascent Resources PLC

13 June 2011

 



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

13 June 2011

Ascent Resources plc ('Ascent' or 'the Company')

Petišovci Project Update

Ascent Resources plc, the AIM-traded oil and gas production and exploration company, has successfully completed the drilling of the Pg-11A well in the Petišovci Project in Slovenia.  Initial results are encouraging and have confirmed the presence of good quality gas and well logs indicated the discovery of approximately 114m of new net additional reservoir in the deeper Miocene.  The drilling rig is now moving to drill the second redevelopment well, Pg-10.  Meanwhile, a workover rig will now be mobilised for a completion testing programme on Pg-11A, designed to optimise the production completions for Pg-11A, Pg-10 and other future redevelopment wells.

·    Petišovci Project appraisal drilling proceeding according to plan;

·    Good initial results from the Pg-11 and Pg-11A drilling with a substantial increase in gas-in-place for the project following the discovery of 114m new net pay in deeper Miocene reservoirs;

·    Short term work programme objectives are to drill Pg-10 as a second development well and for the delineation of the lateral extent of the new gas bearing reservoirs; to determine the optimum completion methodology and to commence production;

·    Medium term objectives are to define recoverable reserves of the project and to commence the implementation of the field re-development.

The Petišovci Project in eastern Slovenia targets the redevelopment of the major Middle Miocene Badenian tight gas reserves, which were partially produced in the 1980's.   The project has a core area in which RPS Energy Limited, an independent reserves auditor, has ascribed a P50 gas-in-place estimated of more than 400 Bcf (c. 12 Bm³; 69 MMboe).  Their estimate excludes additional gas volumes which were encountered in Pg-11A within deeper reservoirs, and exclude any upside volumes associated with a number of undrilled exploration prospects within the concession.  Once data from the Pg-10 well is available an updated gas-in-place assessment will be commissioned.

The Pg-11 and Pg-11A wells successfully confirmed the main technical parameters for the Middle Miocene Badenian tight gas reservoirs and also discovered the deeper gas reservoirs, which will substantially increase gas-in-place estimates for the project.  The Pg-11A well logs indicated approximately 114m of net reservoir in the new section drilled between 3,000m and 3,500m, on which analysis continues to confirm the exact geological age.  The top part of these reservoirs was tested openhole and flowed good quality gas.  Further tests in this section are planned using a more representative cased hole procedure following the installation of the completion by the workover rig.  These results will help determine the configuration of the initial production completions for both the Pg-11A and Pg-10 wells and whether conventional completions or simple, low cost fracture stimulations of the vertical wellbores are best suited to optimise any commercial production.  The Company currently has sufficient financial resources available to put these wells into production under either scenario.  The use of horizontal side-tracks are not considered to be cost effective at this time.

Ascent's Managing Director Jeremy Eng commented, "This project continues to provide very good results for the Company, starting from the 3-D seismic acquired back in 2009 through to the drilling results of Pg-11 and 11A.  We have confirmed the presence of gas in all the previously known Badenian reservoirs and proven the newly discovered deeper reservoirs to be productive for gas.  The Badenian reservoirs, the original focus of the field redevelopment plan, already provided the Company with a substantial project.  However, if the Pg-10 well, which is close to the area of the original field development in the Badenian, also confirms the presence of gas in the deeper reservoirs in the western part of the field, the additional upside in gas volumes should be very significant indeed." 

Ascent, through its wholly owned subsidiary Ascent Slovenia Limited, has a 75% interest in the Petišovci Project.  Ascent's partner is Geoenergo with a 25% interest in the Project. Geoenergo d.o.o. is the holder of the Petišovci Exploitation Concession and is a company jointly owned by Nafta Lendeva, the Slovenia State Oil Company and Petrol, the leading energy conglomerate in Slovenia.

The technical information contained in this release has been reviewed and approved by Dr. Cameron Davies, a Non-executive Director of Ascent who has over 30 years' relevant experience in the oil and gas industry.

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For further information visit www.ascentresources.co.uk or contact:

Jeremy Eng	Ascent Resources plc	Tel: [phone]
Scott Richardson Brown
Sarah Wharry	finnCap Ltd (NOMAD & Broker)	Tel: [phone]
Henrik Persson
Hugo de Salis	St Brides Media & Finance Ltd	Tel: [phone]
Felicity Edwards

Notes:

Ascent Resources plc has a diversified portfolio of hydrocarbon exploration and development interests across five countries in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, Hungary, Slovenia and Netherlands.  Its portfolio contains a solid base of field redevelopment projects with selected exposure to exploration upside.  The portfolio is focussed on gas and with the exception of the shallow water Netherlands project, all of its projects are located onshore where operating and development costs are substantially lower than they would be offshore.

 

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