Gulf starts at Sheikh Adi-2 25/05/2012
Iraq-focused oil explorer Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP) has begun drilling at the Sheikh Adi-2 well in the Sheikh Adi block.
Max Petroleum set to expand
Drilling should start this year at Max Petroleum's 67 million barrel East Alibek project in Kazakhstan with larger targets ahead.
AIM-quoted Max, a star late 2005 AIM newcomer, intends to begin drilling in October at East Alibek in western Kazakhstan's energy-rich Pre-Caspian Basin. Using recent seismic data and old Soviet-era records, the company argues the prospect could contain 67.4 million barrels of oil, with potentially more recoverable from deeper levels.
Chief operating Officer Ole Udsen says an initial cost of around £6 million has been pencilled in, to be met partly through developing shallow deposits in the area, estimated to hold between five and 20 million barrels. He says Max is looking at Blocks E and A further to the west, covering 12,455 sq kms.
According to Udsen, seismic studies suggest a potential for between four and nine billion barrels of oil at deep levels in Block E, while A remains as yet 'more speculative'. The company's plan is to drill at East Alibek until next April, when the rig will be moved to Blocks E and A.
Last target on the list is Astrakansky, which Udsen argues could contain six trillion cubic feet of gas and 235 million barrels of condensate. Deep well drilling is scheduled to start there in late 2007 or early 2008.
Good political and commercial connections are crucial in Kazakhstan, insists Udsen, pointing out that the original local licence holder still has shares in Max and 'works there every day'. He claims members of Max's advisory board have direct access to Alexei Miller, managing committee chairman of Russia's gas-hungry Gazprom giant, while new board recruit Bob Holland, formerly of New York-quoted Triton Energy and the World Bank, has clout in Washington.
Max Petroleum's long-term strategy is to develop its assets through partnerships with big energy companies, but only when it has established the value of its projects more fully. After floating at 35p last October, raising another £38 million at £1 in December and hitting 148p in January, the company's shares now stand at 118p.
They have undoubted speculative potential, despite the possibility of another cash call at some stage.
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