Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El Molla, awarded United Oil and Gas (UOG) Company a development lease that covers the ASD-1X discovery in Abu Sennan, according to a statement.

This is the eighth development lease in the Abu Sennan concession. Production from the ASD-1X well shows a combined initial gross rate of 1,295 barrels of oil per day (bbl/d) from the Abu Roash C (ARC) and Lower Bahariya reservoirs.  As a result of the fast turnaround within less than two months, UOG expects the well would pay for itself within less than a year.

Per the statement, the ASD-1X exploration well safely reached a total depth (TD) of 3,750m measured depth (MD) on March 30, several days ahead of schedule and under budget. The well encountered 22 meters net pay, and on preliminary testing flowed at gross rates of 1,619 bbl/d from the Lower Bahariya reservoir and 1,215 bbl/d from the ARC reservoir.

“The speed at which the Joint Venture is developing Abu Sennan is demonstrative of the excitement we share for the long-term potential of the license, which continues to deliver for the Company. Today’s announcement is yet more positive news, with the approval of the development lease at ASD-1X and the start of production from that well. We would also expect this result to add to the proven reserves on the license,” Brian Larkin, UOG’s CEO, stated.

Additionally, a workover at the ASH-1ST2 well was successfully completed in May. The workover included replacing existing tubing, cleaning the wellbore, and performing reservoir stimulation work. Since completion and initial testing, the well has been flowing at gross rates of over 1,200 bbl/d compared to around 200 bbl/d prior to the workover and boosting asset production even further.

Larkin commented on the workover saying “in tandem with exploration success in Abu Sennan, the encouraging result from the ASH-1ST2 workover will provide a further boost to production, and will also help increase our understanding of the ASH Field.”