Tullow Oil said today gas from its Bangladesh Bangora-1 well came on stream this week, but shares in the firm fell after it said it had abandoned drills in Pakistan and Gabon.
By 8:38 a.m., its shares were down 3.8 per cent at 418-1/4 pence in London, while its Dublin stock was off 2.7 per cent at €6.18.
The company, which began to trial flows at the field in Bangladesh's southeastern Bangora area last week, said production from Bangora-1 had stabilised at 50 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) and that the gas was being shipped into the Ashuganj-Bakhrabad pipeline to supply the local market.
It said the Bangora-2 appraisal well started drilling recently and that it was expected to take 40 days before clearer results are known, which, if good, could see two more wells drilled.
"In the event of positive results from this programme, Tullow plans to declare commerciality and submit a full field development plan to Petrobangla by the end of the year."
Petrobangla is the state-run Bangladesh Oil, Gas & Mineral Corp.
However, the company said in the same update that the Shahpur Chakar-1 exploration well, drilled on the Nawabshah Block in Pakistan, had been plugged and abandoned.
"Although shows were encountered during drilling, all viable reservoirs proved to be water wet," it said.
The Gryphon Marine 1 exploration well in Gabon also yielded negative results and has been plugged and abandoned, Tullow said.
The company said drilling started last week on the M'puta-2 appraisal well in Block 2, Uganda and that it was preparing to flow test the Waraga-1 discovery at the start of June.
Waraga-1 is 19 kilometres to the northeast of the recently drilled M'puta-1 oil discovery well.
Drilling at the deep water Banyan prospect in Block L in Equitorial Guinea started on May 5, Tullow said.