It was a relatively busy week for Sound Energy PLC (LON:SOU) as it continued the fight-back after the recent exploration disappointment in Italy, putting the focus firmly on the company’s operations in Morocco.
On Friday, the explorer outlined its plans for the newly defined Anoual and Matarka exploration areas in the vicinity of its successful Tendrara gas project in eastern Morocco.
New exploration licences are being issued as the group completes its acquisition deal agreed previously with partner OGIF - which also gives the company a larger position in Tendrara. Sound plans to undertake geophysical surveying and preliminary exploration operations, including seismic, ahead of future wells in the new exploration areas.
"Following the recent confirmation of the plan for Tendrara development with the successful TE7 pressure build up, I am very pleased to report excellent progress on the OGIF acquisition and our geophysical programme,” said James Parsons, Sound Energy chief executive.
Earlier in the week, the company told investors expects to deploy a field development at the Tendrara project using regularly spaced horizontal wells, of similar design to the recently drilled TE-7 well.
In a statement, the company gave investors details of new analysis of the TE-7 well, onshore Morocco, based on newly retrieved pressure build-up data.
TE-7 was shut-in back in January following a successful 56-day flow test - which produced around 1bn cubic feet of gas – and the company has now retrieved downhole pressure gauges from the well which provide new detailed information.
The most recent pressure reading shows what Sound described as a “very strong” pressure recovery to date – it was recorded as 393.8 bar, compared to a reading of 140 bar immediately after testing and 422 bar original pressure reading.
Sound noted that the Tendrara reservoirs are low permeability, and as such highlighted that pressure build up is still ongoing and it estimates that pressure stabilisation will take a further six to eight months. Based on reservoir simulations, the company said that once the reservoir pressure is fully stabilised it is estimated that the TE-8 will address some 40bn cubic feet of gas for production.
More well success for UKOG
UK Oil & Gas Investments PLC (LON:UKOG) has told investors that an additional oil bearing zone has been identified from analysis of the Broadford Bridge-1 exploration well. The zone, designated KL0, was seen between 5,508 to 5,640 feet and is determined to be intensely fractured.
It means that the size of the gross thickness of the Kimmeridge continuous oil deposit to around 1,200 feet, and the gross possible oil bearing zone increases to 1,622 feet (spanning five naturally fractured zones).
UKOG now intends to proceed to a flow testing programme, addressing multiple zones, as soon as steel casing is fitted down to target depth and the well has been completed.
“Whilst there is always uncertainty in any new well and testing outcome, the technical results from BB-1 to date continue to remain both positive and most encouraging,”
Hurricane Energy banks another US$10mln of capital
Hurricane Energy Plc (LON:HUR) is to bank another US$10mln as Cenkos Securities and Stifel Nicolaus have taken up options to issue more bonds. The brokers ran Hurricane’s recent US$220mln bond issue, and they had a provision for a further US$10mln to be issued – that option was exercised.
88 Energy quarterly activity update
Coming mid-way through a thoroughly communicated hiatus in the Icewine-2 well programme, 88 Energy Ltd’s (LON:88E, ASX:88E) quarterly activity report was largely an obligatory box-ticking exercise – nonetheless, the explorer was able to remind investors of its notable cash buffer.
88 Energy, which has seen its shares slump in recent weeks, had some A$31.6mln of cash at the end of June.
Some A$13.7mln was spent on Icewine-2 exploration and evaluation activities during the three month period, with a further A$1.4mln covering debt and admin expenses. Operationally, the report covers the period before the Icewine-2 hiatus occurred – as such it details the successful completion of drilling activities, and subsequent operations.
Cabot Energy production report
Cabot Energy Plc (LON:CAB) has shown that its Canadian business has had a “seriously good kick-start”, according to WH Ireland analyst Brendan Long, who reckons the relaunched group will be turning heads in Calgary.
In a statement, on Thursday, Cabot told investors it has been producing some 550 barrels of oil per day, which is in line with guidance, and its summer programme is set to expand on that significantly.
The company, previously known as Northern Petroleum, expects the new work programme to target an additional 300 bopd. It will include two side-tracks from existing wells, plus recompletion of two previously drilled wells and work-overs to three other wells.