Ascent Resources Regulatory News (AST)

 Ascent Resources plc / Epic: AST / Index: AIM / Sector: Oil and Gas

23 June 2011

Ascent Resources plc ('Ascent' or 'the Company')

Pg-10 Spudding on Petišovci Project

Ascent Resources plc, the AIM-traded oil and gas production and exploration company, has commenced drilling the Pg-10 well which is the second redevelopment well of the Petišovci Project in Slovenia. The primary objective of the well is to confirm the reservoir quality and commerciality of the Middle Miocene reservoir section, independently assessed by RPS Energy ('RPS') to contain over 400 Bcf of gas-in-place, and secondarily to further delineate the substantial new deeper reservoir which was recently discovered by the Pg-11 well.

Early estimates suggest that the newly discovered reservoirs could increase the RPS P50 gas estimate by over 50%. Significantly the deeper Miocene pay section in Pg-11A has better reservoir characteristics than the thinner sands, which produced a total of 8 Bcf of gas from the Pg-1 and Pg-5 wells at initial rates of 1.5 and 2.5 MMcfd in 1987. These rates were achieved after fracture stimulation of the vertical wells using, what are now considered to be, outdated techniques.

With the increase in the gas resources of the field and their high pressure and temperature, a stimulation programme involving state-of-the-art fracturing treatments to optimise the gas recovery from the redevelopment is being implemented. Full details of the forward programme will be announced when fracture stimulation design, which will incorporate the extensive log and core data obtained from the Pg-11 and 11A wells, is complete within the next few weeks.

Ascent's Managing Director commented, "This intensive work programme is expected to lead to the successful re-development of significantly bigger reserves than initially predicted and from a field that is now becoming one of the largest under-exploited onshore European gas fields."

Ascent through its wholly owned subsidiary Ascent Slovenia Limited, has a 75% interest in the Petišovci Project. Ascent's partner is Geoenergo with a 25% interest. Geoenergo d.o.o. is the holder of the Petišovci Exploitation Concession and is a company jointly owned by Nafta Lendeva, the Slovenian State Oil Company and Petrol, the leading energy conglomerate in Slovenia.

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For further information visit www.ascentresources.co.uk or contact:

Notes:

Ascent Resources plc has a diversified portfolio of hydrocarbon exploration and development interests across five countries in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, Hungary, Slovenia and Netherlands. Its portfolio contains a solid base of field redevelopment projects with selected exposure to exploration upside. The portfolio is focussed on gas and with the exception of the shallow water Netherlands project, all of its projects are located onshore where operating and development costs are substantially lower than they would be offshore.