Volga Gas Plc issues the following operational update on its activities.
Karpenskiy Licence Area - Supra Salt
The V-Uzenskaya-7 supra salt exploration well has been drilled, tested and completed as a potentially commercial oil discovery. The well was drilled on a surface location approximately 7km to the east of the Uzenskaya field production facilities on an exploration target separate from the Yuzhny Uzenskaya oil field which is currently in production.
The principal exploration objective in the well was found to be water bearing, however an oil bearing reservoir was discovered at a deeper horizon.
A Jurassic sandstone reservoir was discovered in an interval between 1,007 and 1,021 metres depth of which a 1.5 metre interval was oil bearing. The well was cased and tested and produced small quantities of oil. Further evaluation of the discovery, including a 3-D seismic survey and, potentially further appraisal drilling, will be required to determine the reserve potential and productivity of this new discovery.
Mikhail Ivanov, Chief Executive of Volga Gas commented:
"While we were disappointed not to find hydrocarbons in our main target, this new discovery provides a potential target for future appraisal drilling. Any additional oil reserves in this area can very easily be developed using infrastructure that we have already installed on the Uzenskaya field."