UK Oil & Gas PLC (London AIM: UKOG) is pleased to announce that following the temporary suspension of Pinarova-1 testing operations, larger and more powerful 7-inch perforating guns, capable of fully penetrating Pinarova-1’s 9⅝-inch casing and cement and that are available for import into Turkey, have now finally been sourced.
The Company is working closely with the Pinarova-1 operator, Aladdin Middle East, to facilitate delivery to the site as soon as possible so as testing operations can recommence.
As per the Company’s 23rd May 2023 RNS, downhole pressure gauge data showed that the original 4.5-inch perforating guns, the only size guns available in-country, did not establish direct contact with the formation. Therefore, tests to date did not assess the potential of the zones associated with the 12 hours of strong crude oil odour and oil at surface as previously reported on 3rd May 2023.
Additionally, new geochemical analyses undertaken by UK/Norway based APT Ltd demonstrate that both the Pinarova mud-pit oil sample and oil samples from the nearby shallow seismic shot-hole seep are a geochemical close match and most likely originate from the same Mesozoic age oil source rock, located beneath the general area of the shallow Pinarova structure.
With this in mind, should further testing be positive, consideration is being given to the acquisition of a small 3D seismic programme to identify a possible deeper oil pool, seepage/spill from which being the most likely primary source of both the seep and Pinarova oils.
Pinarova-1, located 6 km north of the Basur-1 oil discovery, was designed to test a working hypothesis, supported by well and seismic data, that the active 42˚ API light oil seep found last summer in a seismic shot hole above the Pinarova structure, is directly fed by and connected to an underlying light oil accumulation lying within the Germik and/or Hoya limestones.
UKOG holds a 50% non-operated interest in Pinarova-1 and the surrounding 305 km² Resan licence, which also includes the as yet undeveloped Basur-1 light oil discovery.
Qualified Person’s Statement
Matt Cartwright, UKOG’s Commercial Director, who has 40 years of relevant experience in the global oil industry, has approved the information contained in this announcement. Mr Cartwright is a Chartered Engineer and member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
