Cabot Energy PLC Operational Update (9042U)

TIDMCAB

RNS Number : 9042U

Cabot Energy PLC

30 October 2017

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

Certain information contained in this announcement would have been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 until the release of this announcement.

30 October 2017

Cabot Energy Plc

("Cabot Energy" or "the Company")

Operational update

New corporate presentation

Cabot Energy (AIM: CAB), the AIM quoted oil and gas company focused on production led growth balanced with high impact exploration and appraisal opportunities, provides the following update on the Company's drilling operations in Canada.

16-05 side track well - well tested at significantly higher rates than forecast

-- The side track of the 16-05 well in the Rainbow area has been drilled, completed and is on production to the 13-36 facility through an existing pipeline

-- Following completion of the well, it was tested for a 24 hour period which saw near virgin reservoir pressure and natural flow:

- total oil produced during the 24 hour period, while restricted by a 9.5 millimetre (24/64 inch) choke, was 573 barrels of oil

- the well was producing at a rate of 680 barrels of oil per day ("bopd") by the end of the test period as the well flow cleaned up

-- The side track was drilled out from the original vertical well at a subsurface depth of 1,420 metres

- approximately 200 metres of the new deviated well bore intersected the targeted higher permeability section of the reservoir and was completed open hole to maximise reservoir productivity

-- The well is producing under natural flow and, following pump installation next week, is planned to be produced at a restricted rate of 200 to 225 bopd to best manage the longer term production potential of the reservoir

Remaining operations for 2017 - second side track to be drilled and dual completion well to be brought online

-- The drilling rig used for the 16-05 side track will be moved to the next planned side track well once the ground has become sufficiently frozen to enable heavy traffic

- this is expected to occur by early December 2017 and the well brought into production before the year end, assuming successful operations

-- The regulatory approval process to inject water down the 13-33 well, which was dual completed as part of the summer work programme, is almost complete

- this is planned to be equipped and brought into production during November at a forecast 40 to 50 bopd

-- Planning for the 2018 winter work programme is advanced with up to four further side track locations being assessed for drilling in addition to a well workover campaign of up to ten candidates

The Company is on track to achieve its forecast exit production rate of 800 to 1,000 bopd, of which Cabot Energy owns 75 per cent.

Keith Bush, Chief Executive Officer of Cabot Energy, commented:

"The 16-05 side track result exceeded our expectations and strongly supports our technical view on the potential of the Canadian assets. The Company's existing Rainbow and Virgo acreage has many future side track candidates and high grading this inventory to provide low risk production growth at competitive investment metrics is the current priority.

"The subsurface and operational work undertaken during 2017 has greatly advanced our understanding of the Canadian assets and the true potential of the position, and we look forward to creating further low cost production growth via our 2018 winter work programme."

A new corporate presentation will be made available on the Company's website later today.

- Ends-

For further information please contact:

 
                                      [phone] 
Cabot Energy Plc                       2900 
Keith Bush, Chief Executive Officer 
Nick Morgan, Finance Director 
 
                                      [phone] 
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP         0470 
Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker 
Richard Morrison, Richard Redmayne, 
 Stephen Wong 
 
                                      [phone] 
FirstEnergy Capital LLP                0200 
Joint Broker 
Jonathan Wright 
 
                                      [phone] 
FTI Consulting                         1000 
Financial PR 
Edward Westropp 
 

In Accordance with AIM Rules - Guidance for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies, the information contained in this announcement has been reviewed and signed off by the CEO of Cabot Energy, Mr Keith Bush, who has 25 years' experience as a petroleum engineer. He has read and approved the technical disclosure in this regulatory announcement. The technical disclosure in this announcement complies with the SPE standard.

Note to Editors:

Cabot Energy is an oil and gas company focused on production led growth. The Company is undertaking a redevelopment and production project in north west Alberta and has a broader portfolio of exploration and appraisal opportunities in countries of relatively low political risk, primarily Italy. Comprehensive information on Cabot Energy and its oil and gas operations, including press releases, annual reports and interim reports are available from Cabot Energy's website: www.cabot-energy.com

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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October 30, 2017 03:00 ET (07:00 GMT)