Pan Orient: Preparations underway for first drilling at East Jabung PSC

By Romel S. Gurky

Canadian firm Pan Orient Energy Corp said that preparations are underway for a planned drilling of the first exploration well at the East Jabung PSC, onshore Jambi.

?The operator has indicated that a topographic survey to the proposed first exploration drilling location has been completed and the procurement of all long lead time items was initiated in September,? the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

Pan Orient said construction of an approximately five kilometer access road and drilling pad is expected to start in December followed late in the first quarter of 2017 of the commencement of the drilling of an approximately 1,500 meter well called Ayu-1(the original Cantik-1 was renamed to Ayu-1 at the request of the Government of Indonesia).

The updated timeline comes after a detailed analysis of the alternative options for the access to the location while maximizing the efficiency of the operations. The original plan considered the use of a 70 kilometer stretch of public road that has seriously degraded over the past three years and would have required substantial upgrading.

Pan Orient holds a 49 percent interest in the East Jabung PSC.

Meanwhile, the current 10 year term of the Batu Gajah PSC expires on January 15, 2017 and the company said it is still waiting for the government decision on a PSC extension application that was submitted in July 2016. ?Without the granting of a two year extension to the original ten year term of the PSC, it is not certain the company will elect to proceed with the drilling of an appraisal well at the Akeh discovery, prior to the expiry of the PSC. A decision by the Government of Indonesia on the status of the application is expected prior to year-end,? Pan Orient said.

Pan Orient holds a 77 percent interest in Batu Gajah PSC as the operator.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak