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(Alliance News) - United Oil & Gas PLC on Tuesday said it has completed testing at the ASD S-1X exploration well on the ASD South prospect in the Abu Sennan licence in onshore Egypt.
The Egypt and Jamaica-focused oil and gas company said last month that it began drilling at the well in mid-November, reaching a total depth of 3,450 metres in mid-December, ahead of schedule and under budget.
United O&G said petrophysical analysis of logs indicated the presence of a total of 9.5 metres of net pay across the prospective section of the well, which included 6 metres of net pay within the primary Abu Roash C reservoir.
The well has now been completed as a single completion in the AR-C reservoir, United O&G said. It successfully tested oil on four choke sizes, averaging 1,134 barrels of oil per day at a 24/64 choke size, 1,356 bopd at 32/64, 1,629 bopd at 40/64 and 2,173 bopd at 64/64. Testing at each choke size had a duration of six hours.
United O&G said these preliminary test flow rates were in line with pre-drill expectations.
It said notice of a commercial discovery and an application for a development lease at ASD South will be soon submitted to Egypt General Petroleum Corp by the operator KEE, based on these test results.
Production is expected to commence shortly after approvals are granted and facilities are put in place, United O&G said.
"Whilst the initial flow test rates are very encouraging, we await well pressure data from further, long-term testing before we can determine the expected longer-term flow rates from this well and we will provide a further update in due course. This discovery opens a new area of the licence and the operator will now submit a notice of commercial discovery and an application for a development lease at ASD South. New production facilities will need to be built before the well enters production," said United O&G Chief Executive Officer Brian Larkin.
"Despite this success, it's important to acknowledge the challenging macroeconomic conditions in Egypt and the persistent difficulty the company faces in repatriating funds from the country. We remain committed to collaborating with our local Egyptian stakeholders, EGPC, and the operator KEE to navigate and address these challenges."
Shares in United O&G were up 3.5% to 0.62 pence each in London on Tuesday afternoon.
By Greg Rosenvinge, Alliance News senior reporter
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