Ukraine: JKX Completes Successful Testing of Zaplavskoye Well

London-listed JKX Oil and Gas has announced that it has successfully completed and tested its Z-04 exploration well on the Zaplavskoye licence in Ukraine.

The well was drilled to a depth of 2,937 metres, penetrating over 20 metres of Visean sandstones, in a programme which lasted 31 days. Following the drilling and completion of the well, a 36-hour multi-choke test found that the well flowed at a rate of 20.8 million cubic feet a day (MMcfd) of gas and 1,040 barrels per day (bpd) of condensate though a 41/64-inch choke with a flowing wellhead pressure of 2,684 per square inch (psi),  a statement from JKX said.

The well has now been tied back to the main Novo-Nikolaevskoye complex processing facility with a nine kilometre flowline, JKX says, and placed on production.

"We are greatly encouraged by this first success on the Zaplavskoye exploration licence," Chief Executive of JKX Dr. Paul Davies said. "Condensate rich gas is being produced for the first time in the Novo-Nikolaevskoye area from this particular Visean reservoir layer.

"We are expecting these significant initial flow rates to decline over the coming weeks and the well will be monitored closely as we seek to assess the extent of the accumulation. In parallel, we will be accelerating our appraisal plans for this discovery."

The Z-04 exploration well is located to the north-west of the Novo-Nikolaevskoye field in the Zaplavskoye licence, in Poltava, Ukraine. JKX is the 100 per cent shareholder and operator of the well.