Empyrean and partners preparing to drill Jade prospect

Oil and gas development company Empyrean Energy updated the market on preparations to drill the Jade prospect at its wholly-owned Block 29/11 permit, offshore China on Monday.

The AIM-traded firm said a ‘drill well on paper’ (DWOP) meeting for operations related to the upcoming drilling of the prospect was conducted on 1 April.

It said COSL had implemented “stringent” Covid-19 measures for conducting safe operations, and had advised that rig mobilisation operations would start on 6 April.

The spudding of the LH 17-2-1 well over the Jade prospect was expected “within days” of the rig being safely anchored on the well site.

“The effort, preparation and cooperation between Empyrean, COSL and CNOOC EnerTech has been excellent,” said chief executive officer Tom Kelly.

“With the improvement in weather, we are excited to be so close to commencing drilling at the 395 million barrel Jade target within days.

“Shareholders can feel confident that Empyrean is well represented on the ground in China with company technical director, geologist and geophysicist Gaz Bisht overseeing the drilling campaign on behalf of Empyrean.”

At 1133 BST, shares in Empyrean Energy were down 2.39% at 10.2p.