Drilling Operations Re-commencing

RNS Number : 4496P

Petroneft Resources PLC

19 August 2014

 



PetroNeft Resources plc

("PetroNeft" or the "Group" or the "Company")

Drilling Operations Re-commencing

PetroNeft (AIM: PTR) an oil & gas exploration and production company operating in the Tomsk Oblast, Russian Federation, is pleased to announce a number of significant actions following the completion of the Licence 61 Farmout to Oil India Limited ("OIL") on 3 July 2014, in particular the re-commencement of drilling operations on Licence 61.

·     All debt due to Macquarie and Arawak has been repaid; PetroNeft is now debt-free

·     Joint Venture Working Group has been established

·     Work Programme and Budget for 2014 and 2015 finalised

·     Drilling crew mobilised to commence drilling of Tungolskoye No. 5 well within the next week

·     Second Drilling crew to re-commence production drilling at Arbuzovskoye will be mobilised shortly

·     The Sibkrayevskoye No. 373 delineation well will follow the Tungolskoye No. 5 well

·     Seismic acquisition crew mobilised to commence operations for the acquisition of 1,000 km of high resolution 2D seismic in Q1 2015

Following the completion of the Farmout of a 50% interest in Licence 61 to OIL on 3 July 2014 a number of significant activities have taken place.

The Joint Venture Working Group made up of OIL and PetroNeft has been formally established and the major work programme and budget items for 2014 and 2015 were agreed as follows, subject to drilling results:

·     Tungolskoye No. 5 delineation well

Following a short delay, the drilling and commissioning crews have now been moved to the field and this well should commence within the next week. This will be the first horizontal well drilled on Licence 61 and the data will be used to finalise the pilot development plan to develop the field and tie-back to the Lineynoye processing facilities in Q1 2015.  The well will include a vertical pilot hole which will be cored and tested, followed by a horizontal segment in the reservoir which will also be tested. It will take an estimated 60 days to drill and complete.  Assuming a successful result, additional horizontal and  vertical wells will be drilled at Tungolskoye during 2015 and a pipeline will be constructed to the Lineynoye Central Processing Facility.

·     Arbuzovskoye development wells

A minimum of three additional development wells will be drilled at Arbuzovskoye Pad 1.  A second drilling crew will be mobilised to the field to drill these wells with drilling expected to commence in September.  Production from Licence 61 has slowly declined to 2,000 bopd due to lack of drilling since February 2013.  These wells should help to increase production. 

·     Sibkrayevskoye

The Sibkrayevskoye No. 373 delineation well will be drilled following completion of the Tungolskoye No. 5 well.  Data from this well along with new seismic data will allow for the development of Sibkrayevskoye starting in 2016. 

·     Licence 61 Seismic

Acquisition of 1,000 line kms of high resolution 2D seismic data has been approved.  This programme is designed to detail the Sibkrayevskoye oil field and large Emtorskaya High where potential by-passed oil has been identified.  It will also further detail three significant leads in the Northern portion of the Licence area.  The seismic crew has already mobilised to the field for surveying and line clearing operations.  The data acquisition will occur primarily in Q1 2015 with results due in late summer 2015.

Materials and supplies necessary for this programme were mobilised to the field earlier this year when winter roads were in place. 

All debt due to Macquarie and Arawak was repaid from the initial proceeds of US$35 million and the Company is now debt-free. Under the terms of the Licence 61 Farmout Agreement, OIL will fund the above work programme from the US$45 million of committed exploration and development expenditures on Licence 61.

Dennis Francis, Chief Executive Officer of PetroNeft Resources plc, commented:

"I'm delighted to report that PetroNeft is re-commencing drilling operations following the completion of the Licence 61 Farmout with Oil India.  The initial meetings of the Joint Venture Working Group were extremely productive and we look forward to working closely with our new partner Oil India and to realising the full potential of this asset and to developing further opportunities together.

We have a planned multi-well drilling programme.  The initial well in the programme is the Tungolskoye No. 5 well. We are also commencing a major seismic programme which will shape the future direction of our drilling activity. We look forward to updating shareholders with the results of this exciting drilling and seismic over the coming months."

For further information, contact:

Dennis Francis, CEO, PetroNeft Resources plc	[phone]
Paul Dowling, CFO, PetroNeft Resources plc	[phone]
John Frain/Brian Garrahy, Davy (NOMAD and Joint Broker)	[phone]
Henry Fitzgerald-O'Connor, Canaccord Genuity Limited (Joint Broker)	[phone]
Martin Jackson/Shabnam Bashir, Citigate Dewe Rogerson	[phone]
Joe Murray/Joe Heron, Murray Consultants	[phone]

About Oil India Limited

Oil India Limited (BSE: 533106, NSE: OIL) is one of the largest national oil and gas companies in India as measured by total proved plus probable oil and natural gas reserves and production. It is engaged in the business of exploration for oil and gas, production of crude oil, natural gas and LPG and transportation of crude oil, natural gas and petroleum products. OIL has over 50 E&P blocks in India and an International presence spanning Egypt, Gabon, Libya, Mozambique, Nigeria, USA, Venezuela and Yemen. For further detail please refer to www.oil-india.com.

 

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