Re-drilling of Fontana-1

RNS Number : 4868G

Ascent Resources PLC

02 February 2010

 



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

2 February 2010

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

To commence the re-drilling of Fontana-1

Ascent Resources plc, the AIM-traded oil and gas exploration and production company, through its wholly owned subsidiary Ascent Resources Italia srl ('ARI'), will commence the re-drilling of the Fontana-1 well in the next few days.  The drilling rig has arrived on location, drilling is expected to take a month and is designed to collect cores to appraise the shallow part of the Anagni structure in the Frosinone Exploration permit in the Latina Valley of Italy.  Re-drilling of the well is necessary as the original well, while having demonstrated the presence of the target formations in a structurally high position, experienced mechanical problems which prevented the collection of core samples. 

The original Fontana-1 well reached the target formation 300m shallower than at the Anagni-1 location and confirmed the interpretation of the seismic data.  The new well will utilise a slightly larger rig and use a modified procedure to try to ensure the reliable recovery of core samples. 

Jeremy Eng Ascent's Managing Director said, "The potential upside from Fontana-1 still remains and we are keen to test the structure that we believe has significant potential.  As well as using the larger rig, we are employing a different operating approach to that used in the original drilling of Fontana-1 and therefore do not expect the technical issues previously encountered to reoccur."

In the Penészlek project in eastern Hungary, the PEN-101 wellsite location is almost complete, the PEN-106 location construction is underway and despite the severe winter weather, the construction of the pipeline from PEN-105 to the gathering facilities and to the main export pipeline is almost complete and awaiting pressure testing.

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

Jeremy Eng	Ascent  Resources plc	Tel: [phone]
Simon Cunningham	Ascent  Resources plc	Tel: [phone]
Hugo de Salis	St Brides Media & Finance Ltd	Tel: [phone]
Paul Youens	St Brides Media & Finance Ltd	Tel: [phone]
Lindsay Mair	Astaire Securities	Tel: [phone]
Jerry Keen	Astaire Securities (Corporate Broking)	Tel: [phone]
Toby Gibbs	Astaire Securities	Tel: [phone]

Notes

Ascent Resources plc has a diversified portfolio of hydrocarbon exploration and development projects across five countries in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, Hungary, Slovenia and Netherlands.  Ascent's 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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