Zenith Energy Ltd (LON:ZEN) Chief Executive Officer Andrea Cattaneo caught up with DirectorsTalk for an exclusive interview to discuss drilling at the Jafarli field, the importance of a top drive and the key things investors can expect for the rest of the year.
Q1: Can you give us an update on when Zenith Energy plan to start drilling at the Jafarli Field in Azerbaijan?
A1: As you know, the start of the drilling is imminent, just a question to finalise certain missing items which are arriving in the country as per our communication presently, they are still clearing transportation and customs final steps.
When these items are in the worksite, we will make the usual video and communications so the investors will be informed.
Q2: Can you expand on the importance of a ‘top drive’ in the drilling process and when you expect this to actually arrive?
A2: So, as per arrival, we just said that these final missing items are including the top drive which is the main one and this is clearing customs and then being delivered from customs to the site.
Point one of the importance, that you asked me, about the top drive is due to the fact that as our investors know, we are drilling our depths between 2,500 and 4,500 in this field; Murkadkhanli, Jafarli and Zardab and so the importance was to have a top drive rather than a normal rotary table because it adjusts sensibility and the finesse is our drilling process.
So, that has been the origin of capital raise that we use exclusively to pay this equipment and the importance is that after so much waiting and starting, we want to execute the drilling process at best.
Q3: What are the key things now that investors can expect from Zenith Energy in the rest of 2019?
A3: I think that the investors can expect a lot from the main item of success of this year which has been the purchase of the rig. I can’t say enough times to the investors that this is the future that distinguishes Zenith from its peers, very few companies have the internal ability to drill owning a rig, we have.
Of course, owning the rig, the most natural thing would be to drill, to drill, to drill, the only analogies would be where and how deep and in which field and of course, these would be the variety of technical choice we made.
What the investors should know and be very confident about is the ability to drill in a field that has reserves of, for our portion, 32 million barrels excluding, because they’ve not yet been recorded, the reserve of Zardab. So, this reserve has additional news that will be assessed and disclose din due course.
So, there is a lot of oil and then the ability now with our own rig to drill it and bring it to production.
