(Alliance News) - Caspian Sunrise PLC on Friday said remedial work has led to a drop in monthly production, with problems continuing at a number of wells.
Output for June from the BNG area in Kazakhstan was 38,571 barrels, down 9.1% on the month prior. Average production per day was 1,286 barrels, down 7.9% on May.
"The decrease in production volumes was expected and is the result of postponing much needed remedial work on the MJF wells. Now we have received the MJF licence upgrade we are in a better position to schedule the MJF well workovers to restore production to previous levels," said Caspian.
Caspian is to carry out a 10-well infill drilling programme at MJF, and after that it hopes production will increase to around 4,000 barrels a day. Each well will cost USD1.2 million, and take around two months to drill.
Turning to Caspian's deep wells at BNG, at A5, the company has removed a 2.6 metre "metallic obstruction", and it has now removed lining to allow a sidetrack well to be drilled.
On the A8 well, Caspian has now set casing to a depth of 4,520 metres, and will now wait for an independent assessment of the quality of the cementing before deciding on the next step.
At A6 and 801, Caspian is now looking to use technology new to the firm to solve the two wells' issues.
The A6 well is facing a challenge in establishing a connection between the wellbore and the reservoir, due to near-wellbore damage caused by heavy drilling mud and previous perforation attempts.
"We now have a two-fold strategy to address and establish connectivity. The first part of the strategy utilises the technology referred to, by seeking to perforate an interval of potentially oil-bearing rock using acid stimulation techniques, which do not require a rig," said Caspian.
"The second part of the strategy, if required, involves the utilisation and application of more powerful, deeper penetrating perforating charges to help establish reservoir to wellbore connectivity."
The 801 well is experiencing blockages, both in the main well and the sidetrack, caused by heavy density drilling mud used to contain "extreme" well pressure. Caspian hopes to use the same technology as in the A6 well to fix this.
Shares were 5.0% lower in London at 11.40 pence each.
