United Oil & Gas today announced the spudding of the Al Jahraa-14 development ("AJ-14") well in the Abu Sennan licence, onshore Egypt.

AJ -14 summary

• Drilling of the AJ-14 development well has commenced
• The well is primarily targeting the main producing c Abu Roash C ("ARC") reservoir on the Al Jahraa Field, with a secondary target in the Abu Roash G ("ARG")
• The well is expected to take approximately 60 days to drill and complete and is fully funded from operational cashflow
• On completion of drilling, AJ-14 is expected to be rapidly brought into production

Following mobilisation of the Sino Tharwa-1 rig to site, the operator of the Abu Sennan licence, Kuwait Energy Egypt, has notified the Joint Venture partners that the AJ-14 well has commenced drilling.

The AJ-14 well is being drilled to intersect the ARC reservoir, targeting reserves from an undrained area of the Al Jahraa Field identified from reservoir and simulation modelling work. In addition, there is a deeper secondary objective in the ARG reservoir, with the well targeting an area up-dip of the AJ-12 well (drilled in 2019), which tested oil from this reservoir. If successful, the well is expected to be quickly tied into existing facilities, adding additional production and revenue for the Company.

The AJ-14 development well is the third well drilled in 2022. The Sino Tharwa-1 rig was previously used to drill the ASV-1X exploration well.

ASV-1X well update

The comprehensive testing programme on the ASV-1X well that was announced on 30 May 2022 is continuing, with a rig-less testing unit and downhole pump being put in place following the rig move to the AJ-14 location. A further update will be provided on completion of the test programme.   

United holds a 22% working interest in the Licence, which is operated by KEE.

Brian Larkin, CEO commented: 
"We look forward to continuing the 2022 drilling programme with the spudding of the AJ-14 development well, the third of five wells expected to be drilled this year. As we have shown, successful development wells can be brought into production within days via existing infrastructure, adding production and revenue to the Company and with a typical well achieving payback within several months. Egypt offers a low-cost operating environment, with attractive fiscal terms and continues to deliver positive operational cashflow to United".

KeyFacts Energy: United Oil and Gas Egypt country profile 

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