Eland Oil & Gas PLC (AIM: ELA), an oil & gas production and development company operating in West Africa with an initial focus on Nigeria, announces the following operations update on the Opuama field in licence OML 40.

Further to the Company’s announcement on 13 February 2018, mechanical issues with the OES Teamwork Rig have continued intermittently. The principal issue has been a lack of consistent power from the rig’s engines and consequently the Company, through its joint-venture subsidiary Elcrest Exploration and Production Nigeria Ltd (“Elcrest”), has paused drilling any further until back-up engines arrive at the well site. We are finalising discussions for the supply of back-up engines with a number of suppliers and the back-up equipment is expected on site in April 2018. Drilling has been suspended and completion and production from Opuama-9 is now expected also in April 2018 with Opuama 10 following immediately thereafter.

Production performance from Opuama field remains strong, with gross production from all four wells hitting record levels of 23,164 bbls of oil per day (bopd) in March 2018. Opuama-9 and -10 wells are each expected to initially add a further 4,000 – 6,000 bopd of gross oil production each once brought online, underpinning our production target of reaching 30,000 bopd from Opuama during H1 2018.

Current total production from Opuama in 2018 stands at 1,421,292 barrels of oil (Net to Elcrest: 639,581). Since the beginning of the year Elcrest has lifted a total of 498,622 barrels of crude from Forcados terminal for a value of $33,409,195. Reflecting an average realised price of $67.00 per barrel. Elcrest has a further parcel of 100,000 barrels programmed to be lifted and sold in the next 10 days.

George Maxwell, CEO of Eland, commented:

“Although any delay is frustrating it is not unexpected during a multi-well drilling campaign. I am very pleased with how our team and our partners have responded to the challenge and it should not mask the success of our ongoing drilling campaign which has increased gross production from 12,000 bopd to a record 23,164 boepd in under six months.

Through our increasing lifting volumes, all our stakeholders are starting to see the positive financial effects of our successful drilling campaign and resulting significant ramp-up in production.”

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Source: Press Release