nice RNS24 Nov 2017 10:35
RNS Number : 2498T
Zoltav Resources Inc
11 October 2017
11 October 2017
Zoltav Resources Inc.
("Zoltav" or the "Company")
Operational Update
Zoltav (AIM: ZOL), the Russia-focused oil and gas exploration and production company, provides an update on operations on the Bortovoy Licence, Saratov.
In Zoltav's half-year report published on 26 September 2017, the Company stated that it was re-evaluating the forward drilling programme for the Permian Basin in the Western Fields in order to plan new and improved geological drill targets for keeping the Western Gas Processing Plant at full operating capacity over the mid to long term. In the short term, the Company stated that the Western Gas Processing Plant would be returned to full operating capacity by year-end through a drilling programme focused on delivering additional gas production from sidetrack wells on existing well stock.
The first of these sidetracks, Zhdanovskoye Well 30, due to be operational during Q4 2017, was drilled and has been unsuccessful. Management believes this is due the geology becoming more difficult than previously thought, with reservoir thickness varying significantly and the ability to rely only upon low-quality historic 3D seismic data.
The result of Zhdanovskoye Well 30 has caused management to re-evaluate further the risk profiles of the proposed Permian Basin well programme and postpone all planned drilling on this structure until the interpretation of higher quality 3D seismic is completed, and additional 3D seismic is acquired, throughout 2018.
As previously announced, Zoltav believes that there is potential to yield substantial additional reserves and production in the deeper Devonian structure and management will now divert any surplus planned capex for the remainder of 2017 and 2018 to understanding the potential of the deeper Devonian structure.
The ongoing seismic programme acquired earlier this year involves interpretation of the 180 sq km of 3D seismic over the Devonian structure in the North Mokrousovskoye field and is expected to be completed by March 2018. An additional 507 sq km of 3D seismic on the Western Fields is now also planned to be acquired and processed during 2018. The proposed Devonian drilling activities in 2018 involve a re-entry into a Soviet era Devonian well, Krasnokutskoye Well 14, in order to further assess the development potential of the deeper Devonian structure. To support the Company's Devonian development strategy, during 2018 the Company intends to expand its upstream team with additional hires with significant geological and technical experience in Devonian structures.
The short term impact of suspending the drilling of further sidetrack wells in the Permian Basin is that production throughput into the Western Gas Processing Plant will decline until the results of the proposed seismic programme allows new producing well targets to be identified and drilled. Management expec