7th Nov 2006 12:01
Dragon Oil PLC07 November 2006 DRAGON OIL plc Dragon Oil Plc ("Dragon") SIGNING OF CONTRACT FOR PLATFORM-BASED DRILLING RIG Highlights • Dragon today announces that it has signed a two year contract with Continental Industrial Supply Limited ("CIS") for the 'CIS-1' platform-based drilling rig ("CIS Rig"). • The CIS Rig will be deployed in the first half of 2007, to commence drilling of a series of development wells in the Cheleken Contract Area, offshore Turkmenistan. • With deployment of the CIS Rig, Dragon will be able to achieve its stated aim of having multiple drilling rigs operating simultaneously in 2007. Hussain M. Sultan, Chairman of Dragon commented: "I am very pleased that we have been successful in signing a two year contractfor the CIS Rig. Securing the services of a drilling rig anywhere in the currentclimate is a challenge and securing drilling rigs in the Caspian Sea isparticularly demanding. Our ability to deploy additional rigs and to tie themin to longer term contracts will enable us to plan our field developmentcommitments over an extended period. This rig contract also enables Dragon to accelerate the field developmentprogramme further and to meet our field development goals. It is our statedgoal to fully explore, appraise and develop the Cheleken Contract Area, and thedeployment of the CIS Rig is another cornerstone for continued growth." Details Dragon has signed a drilling rig contract with CIS for an initial contractduration of two years. The CIS Rig will be mobilised from its current locationin Turkmenistan to Dragon's onshore base in Hazar, Turkmenistan. The CIS Rigwill be made ready for offshore operations and it is expected to commencedrilling operations during the first half of 2007. It is planned that the CISRig will initially drill up to four development wells in the LAM field from theLAM 22 platform. The LAM 22 platform has been targeted for further development in light of thepositive production results achieved both from the earlier development wellsdrilled by Dragon in 2001 and 2002 and from the recent workover success of wellLAM 86/86, which is located in a downdip position to these wells. Engineering and construction works will commence shortly to prepare for theplanned mobilisation of the CIS Rig to the LAM 22 platform. These works includean upgrade to the LAM 22 platform and the installation of additional drillingslots. Ends Citigate Dewe Rogerson (+44 20 7638 9571) Media enquiries: Martin Jackson / George Cazenove Analyst enquiries: Nina Soon This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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