London-listed United Oil & Gas (AIM:UOG) informed investors on Wednesday on the recently drilled ASH-2 well, an asset which the group will acquire in the proposed acquisition of Rockhopper Egypt.
The oil and gas company said that ASH-2 was drilled to a total depth of 4,030m in the Alem El Buieb (AEB) Formation and has now been completed in upper and lower reservoir intervals.
The upper and lower intervals were recorded at maximum gross rates of 7,027 and 3,851 bopd, respectively, the company reported.
The ASH-2 well came on stream on 2nd January, the statement said, and it has been consistently producing over 3,000 bopd, the equivalent of 660 bopd for Rockhopper's 22% interest which United is to acquire.
The company also added that ASH-2 has boosted production at the Abu Sennan licence to average around 8,000 boepd, which equates to about 1,760 boepd for the 22% stake.
Shares in United Oil & Gas were trading 13.10% higher at 4.1p on Wednesday morning.
Brian Larkin, CEO of United, said the test results demonstrated the value of Abu Sennan as a producing licence with “considerable upside potential.”
United detailed that the well will continue to be monitored over the coming months alongside test data and longer-term planning for development at the field with its JV partners and national oil company, Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation.
“While the interpretation of the data is continuing, it is clear that the intersected reservoirs have excellent production capacity,” Larkin said.
The company added that the rig is currently being mobilised for the first well in a 2020 programme and is expected to spud shortly.
Meanwhile, the Rockhopper acquisition approaches its completion date with the group now awaiting approval from Egyptian authorities before an official date is announced.
It was also agreed that backstop dates would be extended until the end of February 2020 to allow sufficient time for the acquisition to be completed, the statement added.
“Together with receipt of environmental approval for the development of the Selva Gas field in Italy and the extension of the Tullow-operated Production Sharing Agreement on the Walton Morant Licence offshore Jamaica, 2020 has got off to an excellent start,” added Larkin.
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