Salamander to conduct drillings in Kalimantan
Saturday, June 23 2012 - 04:06 AM WIB
UK-based oil and gas firm Salamander Energy said it would use most of the fund it raised through a rights issue recently to finance its drilling campaigns in Greater Kerendan, Central Kalimantan, and the North Kutei, East Kalimantan in the fourth quarter of this year.
"The Group successfully raised a net US$201 million in April through a rights issue which will allow the Group to accelerate its drilling programme and aggressively pursue the material upside in Indonesia and Thailand," said Charles Jamieson, Chairman of Salamander Energy, at the Group?s Annual General Meeting on Friday.
The other amount of the rights issue fund will be used to finance its exploration drilling in Greater Bualuang, Gulf of Thailand. ?During 2011, Salamander made significant progress in a strategic realignment of its portfolio to focus on the three areas that will be the engines of future growth for Salamander," he said.
As part of the portfolio re-alignment, the Group divested of non-core minority interests in the ONWJ and SES PSCs in Indonesia, and withdrew from Vietnam. The Group continued to build its interests in its core areas, through increasing its equity interest in the Bangkanai PSC, Greater Kerendan, and acquiring an operated interest in the G4/50 licence in the Greater Bualuang area, Gulf of Thailand.
All three core areas will be the focus of exploration drilling in 2012, with the programme in the Gulf of Thailand commencing last week with the Bualuang Far East-1 well. The Group is in the process of tendering for a second rig on long term contract with the intention of using it to commence exploration drilling in the G4/50 licence before the end of the year.
In the North Kutei area, ISIS Petroleum Consultants completed a Competent Persons Report that assessed that the four most drill-ready prospects contain 676 MMboe of gross mean unrisked potential resource (534 MMboe net to Salamander).
As per the announcement made last week, the Group is part of a rig sharing consortium that has contracted the Ocean General semi-submersible rig with the intention to commence exploration drilling in the fourth quarter of 2012.
In the Greater Kerendan area, the DrillCo-1 land rig has been barged up the Barito River and is currently being moved from the staging areas to the drill site. Development drilling is expected to commence in July 2012 followed by exploration drilling before the year end.
Editing by Benget Besalicto Tnb.