During March, Ascent Resources (AIM: AST) carried out an operation at Pg-11A to remove a choke and some stuck tooling left downhole at the end of the workover operation in August 2017. At the time it was expected that the well would flow satisfactorily with the restriction in place. However, the performance of the well since September has been sub-optimal and so the operation to remove the tooling and the choke was carried out.
The operation began on 14 March and the well was put back into production on 28 March 2018, the tooling having been removed and the tubing opened significantly, although part of a mandrel remains stuck at 2,200 metres.
As the water column has not yet been fully removed from the well, the flow rates and pressure have not yet fully recovered. Ascent’s engineers are currently working to remove the water and allow gas to flow freely to the surface again.
The impact of the work carried out at Pg-11A is unlikely to be clear for some time.
The exercise required the well to be shut-in for a large part of March, which resulted in lower gas sales in March than in previous periods.
March production
Production for March, which was scaled back because of the Pg-11A workover, was 1,242,948 cubic metres (43,894 MCF) down from 1,787,616 cubic metres (63,129 MCF) for February 2018.
The average price of gas at the CEGH hub for the month of March 2018 was €21.84 per MwH, being 29% higher than in the corresponding period in 2017.
IPPC Permit
The studies required for the baseline report have been completed and the report is due to be submitted on 6 April 2018.
