Serinus Buys Time for Romanian Work
London-listed Serinus Energy has been given 12 more months to wrap up exploration work at the Satu Mare concession in Romania in light of coronavirus disruptions, it said in a stock filing on October 13. The company has also committed to drilling two wells in that time.
The extension, awarded by Romania's National Agency for Mineral Resources (Namr), gives Serinus until October 27 2021 to undertake final work commitments under the concession's exploration phase. The company had planned to conduct a 120-km2 seismic campaign in the Berveni area just north of the Moftinu gas plant. However, mobilisation of equipment and staff was halted because of uncertainty relating to the pandemic, and a state of emergency declared by the Romanian government on March 20, which restricted travel and limited Serinus' ability to procure services.
Under the revised concession terms agreed with Namr, Serinus will instead drill two exploration wells to depths of 1,000 and 1,600 m respectively. The first, Moftinu-1008, has already received a permit, and surface preparation work has begun. Drilling is expected to begin in early January 2021.
The well will target the producing Moftinu structure and is expected to intersect three proven gas-bearing sand formations and two additional untested sand formations. If successful, it will be tied into the Moftinu gas plant through a 1.5-km flowline for processing and sale. The second well will be drilled into the Sancrai structure directly south of the Moftinu field. A 3D seismic campaign undertaken in 2013 highlighted the prospectivity of this structure, Serinus said. It will likely be spudded in mid-2021.
Serinus produced 2,495 barrels of oil equivalent/day in the first half, up from 680 boe/d a year earlier. Most of its output came from Romania, although it also produces some hydrocarbons in Tunisia. The Satu Mare concession lies in the eastern Pannonian basin. Moftinu was discovered by Serinus in 2014 and brought on stream in April last year.