In a busy morning of updates for the oil and gas industry, here we offer a quick overview of the top three:
Gulf Keystone Petroleum
There was good news from the Kurdistan exploration well Ber Bahr-1, of which both Gulf Keystone Petroleum (LSE: GKP) and Genel Energy (LSE: GENL) hold a 40% working stake in (with the Kurdistan Regional Government holding a 20% carried interest), as a commercial oil discovery was announced.
The well's original total depth was 3,933 meters and "encountered good oil shows over a c.300m interval". Successfully side-tracked, the well "achieved a sustainable flow rate of 2100 STB/day of 15 API oil" in several tests over a couple of days.
As the company's shares lifted over 4% in early trade, Gulf Keystone's chief operating officer John Gerstenlauer commented: "This is another significant discovery and the fifth across the four blocks the Company has an interest in. It comes during an exciting year for the Company as we move toward becoming a significant producer in the region."
Tullow Oil
Tullow Oil (LSE: TLW) also had news for investors this morning, announcing that the Calao-1X exploration well offshore of Côte d'Ivoire has "encountered thin condensate/gas bearing reservoirs in an Upper Cretaceous deepwater channel system".
Exploration director Angus McCoss said: "While this is not the result we were aiming for, both the condensate and the reservoirs that we encountered have added substantially to our knowledge in this frontier area." The shares were largely unaffected by this morning's report.
Tullow Oil is operator of the CI-103 licence, and has a 30% carried interest in the field. Calao-1X targeted an Upper Cretaceous channel system northwest of the Paon-1X oil discovery, drilled in 2012, while exploration will continue later this year with the drilling of the Paon-2A well.
Range Resources
Finally this morning, we were offered an update on the "Atzam #4" well in Guatemala, of which Range Resources (LSE: RRL) has an indirect attributable interest of 24%.
Citation Resources Limited announced that "flow testing of the C13 and C14 carbonate sections of the well has commenced with the perforation of these zones currently under way, with flow testing of the target zones expected to commence shortly".
The Range Resource share price reached 3p in early trade, an increase of 7.2%, as the C13 and C14 carbonate sections in the well are considered "the most prospective oil bearing reservoir units in the well".
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