President Energy to press ahead with busy work programme in Argentina

Upstream oil and gas company President Energy confirmed plans for its work programme for 2019-2020 at its fields in Rio Negro Province, Argentina on Monday, where it has a 90% holding to Edhipsa’s 10%.

The AIM-traded firm said the estimated cost of the work programme between now and the end of 2020 was approximately $50m, and was anticipated to be funded from its existing cash flow without recourse to any additional finance or borrowings ceteris paribus.

It said that, from now through mid-year, an aggregate of at least 10 workovers in Puesto Flores for oil, Estancia Vieja for oil and gas, Puesto Prado for oil, and Las Bases for gas, would be carried out.

The rig was currently being mobilised to the first well location.

By end of May, it said the renovation and commissioning of the oil treatment plant in Puesto Prado would be carried out.

The start of deliveries of oil from the field direct to local refineries would give “enhanced margins”, the board said, with current production standing at 150 barrels of oil per day from the area.

From the end of May through to November, the first phase repair, upgrading and commissioning of the multi-million dollar value gas plant in Las Bases would take place, in order for it to have the capacity to handle initially up to 250,000 cubic metres of gas of President's own gas per day by the end of October.

“The pipeline is already transporting approximately 20,000 cubic metres per day of third party gas for which a tariff is payable to President,” the board said in its statement.

“In any event by mid-year gas flow will commence to the market from the Las Bases and Estancia Vieja fields through temporary facilities.”

From July through to the end of the year, the firm was targeting seven new production and appraisal wells.

By the end of September, it would erect and complete 14 kilometres of new overhead electric lines between the Estancia Vieja and Puesto Flores fields, and commission an electricity generation plant to power the latter field from the former's gas, selling surplus electricity generated to the grid.

It added that by the end of October, it would see increased volumes of gas flowing through the building, with the completion and commissioning of a brand new 16 kilometre section of four inch steel pipeline to be laid between Puesto Prado and Las Bases.

That would replace the limited capacity three inch flexible pipeline between those points.

A further workover programme would begin from October, wth the details to be advised once the results of the present campaign were reviewed, with the board also saying infrastructure works would continue throughout the year.

Looking at 2020, drilling would be carried out on a rolling continuous programme through the year of an aggregate of eight new wells in Las Bases for gas, Puesto Prado for gas and oil, Estancia Vieja for gas, and Puesto Flores for oil.

The wells would be a combination of development, appraisal and exploration wells.

Phase two of the upgrading of the Las Bases gas plant would also be completed during that year, to increase its capacity to its original design capability of one million cubic metres of gas.

“An aggregate of at least eight workovers of wells in the various fields in Rio Negro will be carried out,” the board said in its statement.