Sound Oil Progressing Well in Italy

UK exploration company Sound Oil has said that it progressing well on its prospects in Italy, with a farm-out being offered for its Badile Prospect, near Milan.

The company has re-entered its Casa Tiberi-1 well in Ancona, Italy, which discovered gas in November of last year. The firm is re-entering the well to facilitate further testing, scheduled to take five days, to obtain additional gas flow rates in relation to gas export options. The data will enable the company to determine the commercial viability of the well and to apply for a production concession for the well. 

The company says options for commercialisation of the well include the use of electricity generators and direct export to a local low pressure gas distribution network.

Sound Oil's wholly owned subsidiary, Apennine Energy, is the operator of the Casa Tiberi-1 well, with a 100 per cent stake in the project.

Sound Oil has also announced that it has opened up its Badile Prospect, located near Italian city Milan, to farm-outs, with a campaign to include a presentation at the APPEX prospect fair in London from today to the 8th of March.

Sound Oil estimates, based on its completed studies into the prospect, that Badile may hold from 170-226 Bscf (gas case) or 18-23 MMbo (oil case). The company will submit a drilling application in the second quarter of this year, with drilling expected to begin from 2013.

"Italy is progressing very well," Chairman and Chief Executive of Sound Oil Gerry Orbell said. "The large Badile Prospect close to Milan is ready to drill in all respects and we are now offering this opportunity to industry for farm out.

"We expect the present series of flow tests at Casa Tiberi will allow a decision to be made on commerciality in the near future once we have fully evaluated the results."