2nd Oct 2006 14:29
Dragon Oil PLC02 October 2006 DRAGON OIL plc Dragon Oil Plc ("Dragon") DRILLING UPDATE - 2 October 2006 Highlights • Arrival of the 'Astra' jack-up rig in the Cheleken Contract Area and spudding of a new development well LAM 13/116. Exploration/appraisal well from the LAM 28 platform to follow. • Drilling of well LAM 10/115 completed; perforating and testing is ongoing. • The 'Iran Khazar' drilling rig has been jacked-up alongside the LAM 21 platform and has spudded a new development well LAM 21/117. • Increase in production from workover programme Hussain M. Sultan, Chairman and CEO of Dragon commented: "Our production is continuously improving and I am particularly pleased bothwith the results of the workovers using wireline operations and with the factthat, for the first time in the history of Dragon Oil, we are drilling with twojack-up rigs at the same time. We are on the right track to achievesubstantially improved production by the end of the year." Drilling update details Dragon announces that two jack-up drilling rigs are operating simultaneously forthe first time and that continued success in its workover programme, usingwireline operations, has resulted in an increase in production and efficienciesin the use of one of Dragon's rigs. The 'Astra' jack-up rig, which was contracted for an initial period of 6 monthsfrom Lukoil Shelf with effect from the beginning of September 2006, has arrivedon the Cheleken Contract Area, offshore Turkmenistan. The 'Astra' has been jacked-up alongside the LAM 13 platform, and has spudded anew development well, LAM13/116. The well will target oil reservoirs in zones 4through 7 and has a target depth of 3,519 metres. After completion of wellLAM13/116, the 'Astra' will be moved to spud an exploration/appraisal well onthe LAM West structure from the LAM 28 platform. Well LAM10/115, which has recently been completed within budget by the 'IranKhazar' jack-up rig, is currently in the perforation and testing phase, and anupdate will be given on the test results shortly. This phase of the operation isbeing conducted using wireline operations, to enable the 'Iran Khazar' to moveto the next well location. The 'Iran Khazar' has now been jacked-up alongside the LAM 21 platform, and hasspudded a new development well, LAM21/117. The well will target oil reservoirsin zones 4 through 9, and has a target depth of 4,410 metres. The workovers using wireline operations have continued with the successfulworkover of wells LAM63/85 and LAM63/64, which together have generated anincremental increase in production of around 900 bopd. Ends Citigate Dewe Rogerson (+44 20 7638 9571)Media enquiries: Martin Jackson / George CazenoveAnalyst enquiries: Nina Soon This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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