South America-focussed oil and gas explorer Amerisur Resources plc (LSE:AMER) hit 75 feet of gross oil column with 51 feet of potential net pay from its Platanillo field in Colombia, its second discovery for the year, and will perform flow and pressure tests during the next two weeks, the company said today.
The Platanillo-4 well, where the oil pay announced today was encountered, is the second of the eight-well drilling programme of the company in the 100% controlled 14,000-hectare block in Colombia.
In addition to the results, the company also said there is significant oil saturation in at least three separate formations in the same reservoir section encountered in the said well.
Because of the positive results, Amerisur now intends to drill four wells, instead of the original plan of three, following the testing, completion, and placing on production of the Platanillo-4 well.
The company hopes to reach production rate of 5,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) by the end of 2012, more than double the currently controlled rate of 1,500 bopd commercial production from the Platanillo-3 well, the first well drilled by the company this year.
The Platanillo field, lying within the Putumayo Basin south of Colombia, was certified to have 2P reserves of about 7.7 million barrels of oil as at 31st December 2011, with a net present value of US$401 million.
It is one of the two licences the company holds in the said country; the other one being the Fenix block, located in the eastern and central ranges of the Andes Mountains.
In a separate statement issued today, Amerisur entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with private oil and gas company PetroGranada, under which PetroGranada is given two months to perform due diligence in connection with a possible earned interest in the company’s 100% operated Fenix block.
Shares were up 7.2% to 41.25 pence by 12:33 PM GMT, trading on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange.
Company Spotlight
Amerisur Resources plc focuses its oil and gas exploration and development in the South American countries of Colombia and Paraguay in line with its strategy of acquiring assets in low risk, high impact prospects.
Shares of the company first floated on the Alternative Investment Market in 2004.