United Oil& Gas PLC (AIM: "UOG"), the full-cycle oil and gas company with a portfolio of production, development, exploration and appraisal assets is pleased to announce an update on the ASD S-1X exploration well (“ASD S-1X”) on the ASD south prospect in the Abu Sennan licence, onshore Egypt. United holds a 22% working interest in the licence, which is operated by Kuwait Energy Egypt. 

Summary 

As communicated on 18 December 2023, the ASD S-1X exploration well commenced drilling on 11 November and reached a total depth of 3450 metres on 12December, ahead of schedule and under budget. 

Petrophysical analysis of logs indicated the presence of a total of 9.5 metres of net pay across the prospective section of the well, which included 6 metres of net pay within the primary Abu Roash C (AR-C) reservoir. 

The well has now been completed as a single completion in the AR-C reservoir and successfully tested oil on four choke sizes as follows:

Reservoir            Choke Size            Duration of test       Average gross oil rate
AR-C                     24/64                        6 hours                   1,134 bopd
                             32/64                        6 hours                   1,356 bopd
                             40/64                        6 hours                   1,629 bopd
                             64/64                        6 hours                   2,173 bopd

These preliminary test flow rates for the AR-C reservoir are in line with pre-drill expectations. 

Based on these test results, notice of a commercial discovery and an application for a development lease at ASD South will be soon submitted to Egypt General Petroleum Corporation by the operator, KEE. Production is expected to commence shortly after approvals are granted and facilities are put in place.

United Chief Executive Officer, Brian Larkin commented, 
“We are pleased with the successful drilling of the ASD S-1X exploration well and these promising initial well test results. Whilst the initial flow test rates are very encouraging, we await well pressure data from further, long-term testing before we can determine the expected longer-term flow rates from this well and we will provide a further update in due course. This discovery opens a new area of the licence and the operator will now submit a notice of commercial discovery and an application for a development lease at ASD South.  New production facilities will need to be built before the well enters production.  

Despite this success, it's important to acknowledge the challenging macroeconomic conditions in Egypt and the persistent difficulty the Company faces in repatriating funds from the country. We remain committed to collaborating with our local Egyptian stakeholders, EGPC, and the operator KEE to navigate and address these challenges.”

KeyFacts Energy: United Oil and Gas Egypt country profile