Eland Oil & Gas says drilling on third appraisal well on Gbetiokun field, Nigeria successfully encountered hydrocarbon bearing sands

The group said the operations, conducted via its joint-venture subsidiary Elcrest Exploration and Production Nigeria Ltd., now expects to see completion of Gbetiokun-3 in January

Eland Oil & Gas PLC (LON:ELA) said that drilling on the third appraisal well on the Gbetiokun field in Nigeria has successfully encountered hydrocarbon bearing sands and added that operations will continue down to the remaining target reservoir.

The AIM-listed oil & gas production and development company operating in West Africa said that following completion of operations on Gbetiokun-1, the OES Teamwork rig commenced operations on the Gbetiokun-3 appraisal well on the 20 November 2018.

The group said the operations, conducted via its joint-venture subsidiary Elcrest Exploration and Production Nigeria Ltd., now expects to see completion of Gbetiokun-3 in January.

Once completed, it added, production testing of the Gbetiokun-1 and Gbetiokun-3 wells will be conducted using an early production system (EPS) with initial gross combined production estimated to be approximately 15,000 barrels of oil per day - 6,750 net to Elcrest.

Start-up of the EPS is expected to be in the first quarter of 2019, the company said.

George Maxwell, Eland’s CEO commented: "Gbetiokun has the potential to deliver a 50% increase in oil production from OML 40”.

Source: Proactiveinvestors