Zephyr Energy PLC (AIM:ZPHR, OTCQB:ZPHRF) told investors it has secured a rig contract, for the B29 rig owned and operated by Nabors Drilling USA, for its planned extended lateral well at the Paradox Basin project in Utah.
Drilling operations are slated to start in January.
The extended lateral will target an additional 5,500 feet of the Cane Creek reservoir, with estimated recoveries reaching up to 2 million barrels of oil equivalent.
Zephyr has mobilised a workover rig to prepare the wellbore for the larger drilling rig, expected to arrive by mid-January.
Production testing is anticipated to conclude by the end of March 2025, after which Zephyr intends to finalise gas processing and infrastructure to integrate the new and existing wells at the site.
"We are delighted to secure Nabor's B29 rig within our time frame, and we believe the rig is ideally suited to drill this well,” chief executive Colin Harrington said in a statement.
He added: "Now that the funding for this well is secured and the rig contract is in place, we can look forward to 2025 with optimism and confidence.
“I'm pleased we've reached the end of 2024 on such a positive note, with all the pieces in place for us to deliver on our key strategic objective of opening up the next prolific onshore US oil and gas play.
"We will continue to provide regular updates on progress and, in the meantime, I would like to thank our stakeholders for their ongoing support and wish everyone a safe and peaceful holiday season."