Anglo African pauses drilling at TLP 103 appraisal well

Anglo African Oil and Gas has decided to stop drilling at its TLP 103 appraisal well following setbacks seen in August.

Whilst drilling through the shallow section, Anglo African encountered a "number of drilling challenges" due to localised geological conditions, which resulted in ground movement that impacted the safe operation of the rig.

Anglo African said that initial inspections had shown no damage to the rig but noted that the events had occurred before the well had reached any of its target horizons and that after a number of attempts to overcome the problem, the firm opted to abandon the well's current location and move the rig 100 metres to the north-west and re-spud.

The independent oil and gas developer expects the process to prepare the new location, move the rig and re-spud TLP 103 to take approximately 25 days, with drilling anticipated to take a further 64 days to complete.

Anglo African assured investors it has offers of debt finance sufficient to meet any cost overruns due to the delay.

As of 0845 BST, Anglo African shares had dropped 5.88% to 8p.