3rd Jan 2007 12:07
Dragon Oil PLC03 January 2007 Dragon Oil Plc ("Dragon") DRILLING AND OPERATIONS UPDATE Highlights • Dragon commissions its first wellhead and production platform in theLAM field; • Gross peak production record of 28,025 barrels of oil per day ('bopd')has been achieved; • Dragon's 16th development well, 13/116, has been completed using the'Astra' jack-up rig from the LAM 13 platform, was tested and is producing 2,501bopd; • The workover of well 22/22 has been successfully completed from theLAM 22 platform, using the hydraulic workover unit, and the well is producing1,210 bopd; • Production gain of 808 bopd has been obtained from the successfulwireline workover of well 10/57 from the LAM 10 platform; and • The 'Astra' has spudded a second development well, 13/118, from theLAM 13 platform. Hussain M. Sultan, Chairman and CEO of Dragon commented: "There has been a big push within Dragon throughout 2006, both in terms ofincreasing production and improving infrastructure. In particular, the Companyhas installed the new LAM 'A' platform and it is now ready for drilling. Weexpect the 'Iran Khazar' jack-up rig to start drilling a series of developmentwells from it shortly. Construction of this platform is a major achievement andopens new and exciting opportunities for Dragon in 2007. I am particularly pleased that we have reached a new peak production of over28,000 bopd for the Cheleken Contract Area as a whole. We have pushed on fromearlier peaks and continued to achieve new milestones for the Company. It is also pleasing that the Company has two jack-up rigs working simultaneouslyfor the first time in Dragon's history and that the 'Astra' rig has completedits first well. The Company completed 4 wells during 2006 and is now close tocompleting another development well. We are working on keeping both jack-uprigs for as much of 2007 as possible, enabling us to further accelerate ourdevelopment programme." Citigate Dewe Rogerson (+44 20 7638 9571) Media enquiries: Martin Jackson / George Cazenove Analyst enquiries: Nina Soon Drilling update details Dragon announces that well 13/116, drilled by the 'Astra' jack-up drilling rigfrom the LAM 13 platform, has been completed and is on production. The dualcompletion well tested at a combined rate of 2,501 bopd from reservoir zones 2through 7. The 'Astra' rig has now spudded a second development well, 13/118,also from the LAM 13 platform. The target depth for this well is 3,223 metres. The workover on well 22/22, on the LAM 22 platform using the hydraulic workover,has been successfully completed, generating an increase in production of 1,210bopd. Workovers using wireline operations have continued with the successfulworkover of well 10/57, from the LAM 10 platform, resulting in production of 808bopd. Prior to the workovers, neither well was on production. The 'Iran Khazar' jack-up drilling rig has drilled the development well, 21/117,from the LAM 21 platform, to a depth of 4,245 metres. The well is currentlyunder completion operations and Dragon expects to announce results of this wellin the near future. Operations update The Company is pleased to announce the commissioning of the new LAM 'A' wellheadand production platform. The 'Iran Khazar' jack-up rig is planned to spud thefirst development well on this platform once the rig has completed well 21/117on the LAM 21 platform. Significant progress has also been made on the new onshore 50,000 bopdprocessing facility. The commissioning of this new facility is expected earlyin Q1 2007. Ends This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
DGO.L