Sound Energy PLC (LON:SOU) has now kicked off the drilling of the TE-10 well at the Tendrara project in eastern Morocco. It is the second of a planned three well exploration programme at Tendrara, and, it is located around 25 kilometres away from Tendrara’s currently anticipated production area.
The drilling programme is expected to run for 30 to 40 days, with the well drilled down to a depth of 2,200 metres.
Eland Oil & Gas PLC (LON:ELA)
Eland revealed the latest results of the Ubima-1 appraisal well which effectively opens up an additional source of production and revenue for the company.
The Nigeria-focused oil company, in a stock market statement, reported that the E1000/E2000 reservoirs produced between 900 and 1,000 barrels of oil per day in testing.
That adds to the previous test flow measured for the well’s separate F7000 reservoir which in September flowed 2,500 bopd.
Eland noted that the testing programme had to be curtailed due to oil storage limitations. It is now working with its partners to evaluate the field via an extended well test due to take place in early 2019and at the same time plans to monetise the oil through third-party infrastructure.
Faroe Petroleum plc (LON:FPM)
Takeover target Faroe Petroleum plc (LON:FPM) has today unveiled an asset swap deal with Equinor - the state-backed Norwegian firm previously called Statoil – in which it trades the longer timeline field developments in exchange for already producing assets.
The deal is expected to deliver between 7,000 and 8,000 barrels of oil equivalent production per day for 2019, and, as such, sets Faroe up to achieve its medium-term targets.
Specifically, Faroe will hand over its stakes in the Njord, Hyme redevelopment and Bauge development assets. In return, it receives interests in four producing assets - Alve, Marulk, Ringhorne East and Vilje - all located on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
Faroe told investors that the deal “provides better portfolio balance” without any material change in its underlying reserve base.
Meanwhile, the AIM-quoted oiler also anticipates a significant reduction in capital expenditure from 2019, as well as other economic benefits including a material reduction in operating expenditure per barrel and the bringing forward of the utilisation of accrued tax benefits in Norway.
Eco Atlantic Oil & Gas Ltd (LON:ECO, CVE:EOG)
Eco confirmed that it will drill at least one exploration well offshore Guyana in 2019, with the drilling of the Jethro-Lobe prospect slated for ‘late May / early June’.
The prospect, described as “an Upper Tertiary stratigraphically trapped canyon turbidite”, is estimated to host a potential 250mln barrels of crude resources and it is situated in 1,350 metres of water and will be executed using a conventional drill ship.
Eco said its 15% share of the well is expected to incur net costs of US$7.6mln for the Jethro-Lobe well, and, following the recent completion of its farm-out deal with Total, the junior explorer is sufficiently funded, with more than US$20mln in the back at the end of November. A minimum of two wells is envisaged for the 2019 drill programme.
Diversified Gas & Oil PLC (LON:DGOC)
DGOC told investors it has reached an agreement with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection regarding the company’s well decommissioning obligations.
Earlier in the week, DGOC told investors that results for 2018 will be “materially ahead of current market expectations”. The new guidance is based on the performance in the year-to-date following the completion of asset acquisitions earlier this year.
Daily production amounted to around 60,000 barrels oil equivalent per day in September, and, following the completion of the latest acquisition in October the tall has since measured 70,000 boepd.
Tower Resources PLC (LON:TRP)
Tower told investors that a contractor has been hired for the upcoming NJOM-3 well at the Thali project offshore Cameroon.
Vantage Drilling International will supply the Topaz Driller jack-up rig and drilling services to deliver the well, with operations expected in the second quarter of 2019.
Union Jack Oil PLC (LON:UJO)
UJO expects drilling to start for the Biscathorpe-2 appraisal well in the new year.
The company, in a statement, told investors that site construction is expected to complete this month, the drill rig will be mobilised in early January, and will be completed in mid-February. It adds another first quarter catalyst for the junior UK oiler, which is also participating in the West Newton well project, in Yorkshire.
Rose Petroleum PLC (LON:ROSE)
Rose confirmed it is lined up to drill a well in the first quarter of 2019 after it agreed an updated operational plan with the Utah Bureau of Land Management. As part of the agreement the boundary of the Gunnison Valley Unit (GVU), in the Paradox Basin, has been extended to include acreage acquired by Rose earlier this year.
That acreage is host to the proposed GVU 22-1 well which, based on 3D seismic, is considered to be a top-ranked well location.
Rose told investors that it has been in discussions with various drilling companies to secure an appropriate rig so that the GVU 22-1 can be spudded at the earliest opportunity.
Cabot Energy Plc (LON:CAB)
Cabot has told investors that new measures by the Alberta authorities to cut-back crude production in the short-term won’t impact its business.
The regional government has this week revealed it will mandate a reduction in oil production by 325,000 barrels of oil per day, which represents a clip of about 8.7%, in order to address surpluses in the local market. Cabot noted that the order includes an exemption on each producer’s first 10,000 bopd of production, which means its operations will be unaffected.
Block Energy Plc (LON:BLOE)
Block announced a successful start to its workover programmes in Georgia, where it has now completed initial operations for the first three well renovations.
The company, in a stock market statement, said it had successfully re-entered the first three nominated wells at the Norio field and that it was now ‘rigging up’ at the fourth. Using what’s described as a specialised perforation tool the company will shortly “significantly enhance recovery rates” from the wells.
Tlou Energy Ltd (LON:TLOU)
Tlou saw its shares rise on Tuesday as it told investors that ‘top hole’ drilling operations are complete for the Lesedi-3, Lesedi-4 and the ‘optional’ Lesedi- 5 wells.
The group added that the coal bed methane project is on time and in line with budget. Tlou is now preparing to drill the lateral well sections, to be referred to as Lesedi 3A, 3B, 4A, and 4B accordingly.
"The drilling operations have progressed extremely well, and I would like to thank all our field staff for their excellent work to get to this stage,” said Tony Gilby, Tlou managing director.