Fastnet abandons first Agadir well

AIM-listed Fastnet Oil & Gas has abandoned a Moroccan offshore well after failing to encounter commercial levels of oil or gas. Shares in the company were down 28% to 7.63p as the company said the well, which is the first in a series of wells designed to unlock the Agadir Basin, was plugged and abandoned.On the upside, the well encountered oil and gas shows while drilling and in sidewall cores, which the company said suggested "the presence of a working petroleum system".The well was drilled to test the salt diapir play concept targeting the Cretaceous interval in a combined structural-stratigraphic trap, which is one of several independent play types and fairways present in the basin. Managing Director Paul Griffiths said: "The FA-1 well has been drilled to total depth within budget. It is the first exploration well in the Foum Assaka licence area and as such has provided valuable information to support and enhance the ongoing evaluation of the licence. "Fastnet is pleased that its strategy of funding high risk:high reward drilling offshore Morocco by means of its previously announced farmout allows the company to fully participate in the further evaluation of the prospective areas of the licence."OH