Leni Gas & Oil to launch Malta off-shore seismic survey

UK-based Leni Gas & Oil (LON:LGO) is set to launch a 3D seismic survey to define the final location for the drilling of the first exploration well in which the company has a 10% stake in production sharing contract.

Neil Ritson, chief executive of Leni Gas & Oil who spoke ahead of the company’s AGM, said that it is anticipated that the seismic will be acquired in late 2011 to permit interpretation and preparation for drilling before January 2013.  The cost to Leni of the new seismic is estimated to be US$760,000.

The company has a production sharing contract on Area 4, in blocks 4,5,6 and 7 to the south of Malta towards Tunisia and Libya.

Ritson hailed continuing improvement in production across its key 100% owned gas fields in Northern Spain and “considerable progress” throughout its wider portfolio of assets.

He said that a programme of well workovers across the Ayoluengo field in Spain, launched in April, has already resulted in a 100% increased in production to 303 barrels of oil per day (bopd) compared to levels before the intervention.

Another major task for the company in recent months has been to address underperformance of its portfolio of assets in US Gulf of Mexico. Here too there has been tangible progress, with company having announced earlier this month that it has resumed production from the Eugene Island-184 (EI-184) platform.

The company has a 6.04 percent beneficial interest in the EI-184 field where the former operator, Leed Petroleum, suspended operations after it decided to cease its business operations at the end of March. US oil firm Marlin Energy subsequently took over from Leed and under its operatorship all five wells are back online.

Gross average daily production at Eugene has reached 956 million standard cubic metres of gas and 382 barrel of oil, giving 546 barrels of oil equivalent in total.

In Trinidad, meanwhile, the company is the final phase of negotiations to farm-in to leases totalling 1200 acre in order to workover existing producing wells and drill three new exploration wells and up to six appraisal wells. Once final terms are agreed it is anticipated that drilling will commence within six months.