Molecular Energies working towards drilling Paraguay well

The AIM-traded firm said the current status of the project was that the mobilisation to the site had been completed.

It said the site camp for 60 people, including medical and catering facilities, had also been assembled, while the rig up was around 50% complete, with the mast scheduled to be erected at or around the end of next week.

There were now 50 workers on site, including Molecular's drilling manager, company manager, HSE supervisor and logistics supervisor.

The blowout preventer was meanwhile undergoing final testing and certification, before being shipped to the site from Brazil.

Molecular said it currently expected the preventer to be delivered and installed in the week of 11 September.

Long lead services, including logging while drilling, fishing and performance drilling tools, as well as casing running equipment, were now on site.

Halliburton had also started moving chemicals for drilling fluids and cementing.

Continuous work was being conducted to monitor the approximately 150 kilometres of unpaved dirt roads to the remote location, the board explained, and that would continue throughout the drilling and demobilisation period.

Molecular Energies said the exploration well is located in the Pirity concession, Chaco, Paraguay, adding that it had carried out an extensive exploration programme in the area, including interpretation of 6,435 kilometres of existing regional 2D data.

The exploration licence for the Pirity concession had also been extended by one year to September 2024, providing ample time for the drilling of the well.

“Commencement of drilling is now scheduled to take place at some stage in the second half of September,” the Molecular Energies board said in its statement.

At 1157 BST, shares in Molecular Energies were up 1.12% at 126.4p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.