Drilling commences at Magnolia Petroleum's Helgeson well

AIM-quoted US-focused onshore oil and gas exploration company Magnolia Petroleum has published an operational update reporting that drilling has commenced at another of its North Dakota wells.The company reported that its Helgeson 41-30H well, operated by Marathon Oil, had commenced drilling on February 4th.Magnolia currently holds a 5.428% working interest and 4.071% net revenue interest in Helgeson. The group reported that the estimated total cost of the well is $8.6m, of which Magnolia's share is $464,745.Drilling is also underway at two other wells located in North Dakota and another well in Oklahoma. Rita Whittington, Chief Operating Officer of Magnolia, said: "We are pleased to announce additional drilling alongside leading operators such as Marathon Oil and Statoil.""This drilling activity is a continuation of the momentum created last year when we significantly increased our acreage and the number of potential drilling locations in proven US onshore formations. She added: "As these and other wells come into production, we should see further increases in revenue and cash flow and we look forward to providing updates in our final results and the recently commissioned Reserves Report."MF