29th Apr 2008 07:00
Dragon Oil PLC29 April 2008 29th April 2008 DRAGON OIL plc ("Dragon Oil" or the "Company") Drilling and Operations Update Dzheitune (Lam) 22/126 on production Highlights • Dragon Oil's development well Dzheitune (Lam) 22/126 yields a rate of 1,602 barrels of oil per day ('bopd') on the short string and a rate of 1,193 bopd on the long string. • Dragon Oil restores the production flow from the well Dzheitune (Lam) 28/120. Hussain M. Sultan, Chairman and CEO of Dragon Oil, commented: "I am pleased to announce the successful completion and initial testing of theDzheitune (Lam) 22/126 development well, drilled from the Dzheitune (Lam) 22platform. The results from the well are in line with our forecasted productionrates. This is the second well completed by the platform-based drilling rig,the CIS-1, and we now have a greater understanding of the rig's capabilities. Dragon Oil has also managed to overcome the difficulties posed by the unusuallycold weather in Turkmenistan this winter and has restored the flow from the wellDzheitune (Lam) 28/120. This is an important well for Dragon Oil, situated asit is in the Dzheitune (Lam) West structure, and we will continue to monitor theproduction from the well closely." Drilling Details Initial testing of the well 22/126, which was drilled to a depth of 4,307metres, has been completed successfully with a dual completion. The shortstring tested at a rate of 1,602 bopd on a 20/64ths choke whilst the long stringtested 1,193 bopd on a 12/64ths choke. The CIS-1 drilling rig is currentlyskidding to well Dzheitune (Lam) 22/128 and will commence drilling shortly. The Iran Khazar jack-up drilling rig is drilling a development well, Dzheitune(Lam) A/127, and to date has reached a depth of 3,278 metres (with a targetdepth of 4,164 metres). The Iran Khazar rig is expected to complete the wellduring June 2008. Operational Update Details Dragon Oil has restored the production flow from the well Dzheitune (Lam) 28/120which had been shut-in since early March as a result of technical problemsarising from the extreme weather conditions in Turkmenistan. The well had beenshut-in while Dragon Oil personnel assessed the impact of the cold weather onthe production of the crude oil from this well. The well has now been restoredto full production after the installation of a new coflex alternate pipelinefrom the Dzheitune (Lam) 28 platform whilst work is on-going to improve the flowthrough the existing infield pipeline. Background Note Dragon Oil Plc is an innovative international oil and gas development andproduction company, quoted on the London and Irish Stock exchanges (Tickersymbol: DGO). Its principal producing asset is in the Cheleken Contract Area, inthe eastern section of the Caspian Sea, offshore Turkmenistan and recentlyacquired interests in Blocks 35, 49 and R2 (10%) in the Republic of Yemen. Dragon Oil (Turkmenistan) Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Dragon Oil plc,holds 100% interest in and is the operator of the Production Sharing Agreementfor the Cheleken Contract Area in the Caspian Sea, offshore Turkmenistan.Operational focus is on the re-development of two oil producing fields,Dzheitune (Lam) and Dzhygalybeg (Zhdanov). www.dragonoil.com For further information please contact: Media enquiriesCitigate Dewe Rogerson (+44 20 7638 9571)Martin JacksonGeorge Cazenove Investor and Analyst enquiriesDragon Oil Plc (+971 4 305 3600)Leanne Denman, Investor Relations Officer This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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