logo-loader

Petro Matad's last Davsan Tolgoi well in 2011 shows fair and good oil shows; releases interims

Published: 08:41 30 Sep 2011 BST

no_picture_pai

Mongolia-focused oil explorer Petro Matad (LON:MATD) said DT-11 - its last well of 2011 at Davsan Tolgoi  -  has shown fair and good oil shows and has been completed for testing.

The company, which also released its interim results today, said that analysis of the replacement well showed a total of 14.5 meters of net pay.

The pay zones at the well are divided into three test intervals - 1,076m-1,084m, 1,100m -1,102m, and 1,127m -1,134 metres, said the company.

Chief executive Douglas McGay said: "We are pleased that the efficient drilling and sound mechanical condition of the DT-11 replacement well will permit us to fully test the same Uppermost Tsagaantsav reservoir encountered in DT-1. We expect testing to commence in the near future."

The firm has now drilled 11 wells on the Davsan Tolgoi prospect with the first three in 2010. The contractor's rig has been stacked on site for an early re-commencement of drilling in 2012.

Of the eight wells drilled during this year, all but one showed hydrocarbons, the firm said today.

For the six months to June 30, the firm posted a net loss of $15.1 million compared to a net loss of $2.8 million. The cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period stood at $41.3 million (2010:$8.6 million).

Summarising operations, the firm said the period had seen further growth and it had achieved many of its goals with the 2011 drilling programme at Davsan Tolgoi running smoothly.

However, McGay said it had been a "somewhat sobering" time for
the advancement of Davsan Tolgoi. "The company believes that the Davsan Tolgoi Prospect will prove to be a viable oilfield, but the drilling and testing results to date have demonstrated that the geological settings are complex and will require further work before a more complete understanding can be attained and the resource more definitively outlined," he said.

He said the firm was confident about its future and had sufficient cash reserves going forward to maximise the "immense" exploration prospects in its Mongolian portfolio.

Looking beyond Davsan Tolgoi, in Block V, the firm said it had completed 946 km of seismic on two basins there and analysis had shown that the Tugrug basin contained an active hydrocarbon system.
Oil shale occurrences have also been found.

On Block IV, 896km of seismic has been acquired over several basins while field examination confirmed continued source and reservoir sequences.

The newly identified Argalant area has about 700 metres of Cretaceous section, including thick sequences of visually rich oil shale and analytical results are pending, said the firm.

The Khoid Ulaan Bulag oil shale occurrence on the Block may have commercial potential for an unconventional play, it added. Core drilling is scheduled for the Biger basin in western Block IV.

McGay concluded that the months ahead promise to build upon the firm's achievements, with a constant flow of news and results from the many programmes we have highlighted herein.

FTSE starts flat, Unilever jumps on ice cream overhaul - Market Report

The FTSE 100 has opened flat, with the largest gain coming from multinational consumer goods heavyweight Unilever. The company lifted more than 5% in early trading after launching plans to sack 7,500 workers as part of an overhaul of its ice cream business. Over in the pharmaceutical...

1 hour, 2 minutes ago