Ascent Resources PLC Operational Update (3281T)

TIDMAST

RNS Number : 3281T

Ascent Resources PLC

03 July 2018

Ascent Resources plc / Epic: AST / Index: AIM / Sector: Oil and Gas

3 July 2018

Ascent Resources plc

("Ascent" or the "Company")

Operational Update

Gas Sales Agreement

The Board of Ascent Resources plc, the AIM quoted European oil and gas exploration and production company, is pleased to report that the Gas Sales Agreement, under which untreated gas is sold to INA in Croatia, has been extended to 2 May 2019.

As a consequence of the extension, the required bank guarantee has reduced and the amount which Ascent is obliged to hold on restricted deposit has been reduced from EUR400,000 to EUR200,000.

Pg-11A

Well Pg-11A was brought back into production on 7 June, the well was in continuous production until 18 June, during this period the well produced a total of 119,741 cubic metres of gas. The well was temporarily shut in again on the 18 June to allow pressures to rebuild. The well was restarted again on 26 June and up to 30 June the well had produced a further 30,955 cubic metres of gas. The intention is to produce the well on an intermittent basis going forward.

Total production for June

Total production for June was 1,027,939 cubic metres (36,180 MCF) compared to 1,066,795 cubic metres (37,673 MCF) for May 2018. Average daily production for June was 1.2 MMscfd which was in line with the production rate in May.

Revenues

Total revenue to Ascent for June from gas sales expected to be around EUR190,000, with an additional EUR15,000 to EUR20,000 from the sale of condensate.

Permitting

We will complete and submit the amendments requested from the Environment Agency by the end of this week (6 July). We hope that they will review the amendments and award the IPPC Permit without any further delay.

The Environment Agency has requested some additional information in relation to our permit to workover Pg-10 and Pg-11A. We are preparing our responses also for submission at the end of this week.

Strategic review

The strategic review process has been ongoing since 17 April 2018. The Board are pleased with progress made to date and hope to update the market in due course.

Colin Hutchinson, CEO of Ascent Resources plc commented:

"I am pleased that the gas sales agreement has been extended for a further period and we look forward to continuing this successful relationship with INA. Gas production and revenues for June were consistent with May and it was encouraging to have Pg-11A making a contribution."

Enquiries:

 
 Ascent Resources plc 
  Clive Carver, Chairman 
  Colin Hutchinson, CEO             0207 251 4905 
 WH Ireland, Nominated Adviser 
  & Broker 
  James Joyce / Alex Bond           0207 220 1666 
 Yellow Jersey, Financial PR and 
  IR 
  Tim Thompson / Harriet Jackson 
  / Henry Wilkinson                 0203 735 8825 
 

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July 03, 2018 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)