Dragon Releases Drilling and Production Update in Cheleken Contract Area

Dragon Releases Drilling and Production Update in Cheleken Contract Area

Dragon Oil plc, an international oil and gas exploration, development and production company, publishes an update on the wells completed in the Cheleken Contract Area in Turkmenistan in the fourth quarter of 2013 and production numbers for 2013 and December 2013.

Since the previous quarterly drilling update on 4 October 2013, Dragon Oil has completed two wells. Both wells were completed using the jack-up rig on the Dzheitune (Lam) C platform. The Dzheitune (Lam) C/185 well was drilled to a depth of 2,905 metres and completed as a dual producer in November 2013. It tested for initial production at 2,053 barrels of oil per day (bopd) from the short string and 1,674 bopd from the long string. The depth of the Dzheitune (Lam) C/186 well was 2,833 metres and it was completed as a dual producer in December 2013. The short string tested at the initial rate of 1,090 bopd with the long string testing at 1,843 bopd.

Four drilling rigs will be operational in the Cheleken Contract Area in the coming two months. The jack-up rig has been mobilised to the Dzheitune (Lam) B platform to sidetrack the Dzheitune (Lam) B/155 well. The other three rigs are expected to commence drilling in February 2014: the Neptune jack-up drilling rig is being prepared for spudding the Dzhygalybeg (Zhdanov) 21/101 well; the leased platform-based rig (“Land Rig 1”) is expected to commence drilling on the Dzheitune (Lam) 22 platform and the contracted platform-based rig (“Land Rig 2”) is being prepared to commence drilling the Dzhygalybeg (Zhdanov) A/102 appraisal/development well.

The average Cheleken gross field production for 2013 was approximately 73,750 bopd (2012: 67,600 bopd), representing an increase of 9.1% over the corresponding period in 2012. The average production for December 2013 was 72,900 bopd (December 2012: 73,500 bopd). The exit rate in 2013 was 74,812 bopd (2012: 73,520 bopd).

Press Release, January 09, 2014