Dragon Oil to Invest $700 Million in Caspian Projects offshore Turkmenistan

Dragon Oil plc , an international oil and gas exploration and production company, today announces further details regarding two contracts awarded for the construction of two new platforms in its Cheleken Contract Area, located in the Caspian Sea, off-shore Turkmenistan.

The first contract was awarded for the construction of the Dzhygalybeg (Zhdanov) A platform which will support both a land rig and jack-up rig. Up to 8 wells can be drilled from this platform which will be installed in the Zhdanov Field and is due to be completed in Q1 2012.

The second contract was awarded for the construction of the Dzheitune (Lam) C platform which will support a jack-up rig. Up to 8 wells can be drilled from this platform which will be installed in the Lam Field and is due to be completed in Q4 2011.

The contract for the construction of the Dzhygalybeg (Zhdanov) A platform was awarded to Caspian Energy Projects LLC., while the contract for the construction of the Dzheitune (Lam) C platform was awarded to ILK Insaat Taah, San. Ve.tic Ltd. Dragon Oil expects to spend around US$ 250 million this year and around US$600-700 million in total on infrastructure projects in the planning period of 2010-12 including expenditure on these two new production platforms.

Dr Abdul Jaleel Al Khalifa, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

“I am pleased that Dragon Oil has awarded these contracts for the construction of two new platforms which can support a total of up to 16 new wells in the future. This is a significant investment in our infrastructure and will ensure that we are well placed to meet our production targets in the years to come.”

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Source: Dragonoil, May 13, 2010;