Sound to Spud Nervesa Well Within Weeks

Italy-focused Sound Oil expects to spud its first appraisal well on its onshore Nervesa discovery within weeks, after it announced Thursday that a land rig currently being used in the Netherlands is about to be released to the company.

LP Drilling, the owner of the contracted TB2100S drilling rig, has informed Sound that its operations in the Netherlands are being finalized, with mobilization to Italy expected to begin within the next fortnight. The estimated time taken to transport the rig to Italy is up to six days, while rigging up the rig will take another six days after which the well will be spud. Preparations at the Nervesa sites are now "materially complete", Sound said.

Drilling and logging is expected to take up to 30 days, while six days has been set aside for completion and clean up. Well testing should then take an additional five days.

Sound CEO James Parsons commented in a company statement:

"Nervesa is a 21 billion standard cubic feet gas discovery which was discovered by ENI in 1985, flowed for a couple of years and has an independently assessed base case value of circa $60 million.

"Following the decision to drill a second Nervesa well in 2013, the company estimates initial annual cash flows in a success case scenario of circa $21 million per annum, after tax and after the CSTI funding.

"The successful drilling of this flagship asset will be the first step in unlocking the significant value inherent in the Sound Oil portfolio. April and May will be critical months for the company."

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Sound to Spud Nervesa Well Within Weeks

Italy-focused Sound Oil expects to spud its first appraisal well on its onshore Nervesa discovery within weeks, after it announced Thursday that a land rig currently being used in the Netherlands is about to be released to the company.

LP Drilling, the owner of the contracted TB2100S drilling rig, has informed Sound that its operations in the Netherlands are being finalized, with mobilization to Italy expected to begin within the next fortnight. The estimated time taken to transport the rig to Italy is up to six days, while rigging up the rig will take another six days after which the well will be spud. Preparations at the Nervesa sites are now "materially complete", Sound said.

Drilling and logging is expected to take up to 30 days, while six days has been set aside for completion and clean up. Well testing should then take an additional five days.

Sound CEO James Parsons commented in a company statement:

"Nervesa is a 21 billion standard cubic feet gas discovery which was discovered by ENI in 1985, flowed for a couple of years and has an independently assessed base case value of circa $60 million.

"Following the decision to drill a second Nervesa well in 2013, the company estimates initial annual cash flows in a success case scenario of circa $21 million per annum, after tax and after the CSTI funding.

"The successful drilling of this flagship asset will be the first step in unlocking the significant value inherent in the Sound Oil portfolio. April and May will be critical months for the company."

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Russian Tycoons Sound Out Ex-BP Chiefs about Oil Deals

Representatives of the Alfa Group, set to earn billions of dollars from the sale of Anglo-Russian oil venture TNK-BP, have sounded out former BP CEOs John Browne and Tony Hayward about investing jointly in international oil projects, Reuters reported on its website Wednesday.

German Khan, one of four Russian businessmen who shared control of TNK-BP with BP PLC for a decade, met Mr. Browne and Mr. Hayward and other potential deal partners in London last month, Reuters cited sources familiar with the discussions as saying.

Mr. Khan effectively heads TNK-BP and is Mikhail Fridman's partner in the Alfa Group consortium.

The Alfa-Access-Renova consortium will receive cash of $28 billion for selling their one-half stake in TNK-BP to Russian state-owned oil company OAO Rosneft.

Alfa will get half of that and wants to reinvest much of the money in oil and gas, as well as in telecoms, the sources said in the report.

The other two partners in AAR, mining tycoon Viktor Vekselberg of the Renova Group and Len Blavatnik of Access Industries, are likely to bow out and focus on other ventures and charity work, sources close to TNK-BP and AAR said.

Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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Russian Tycoons Sound Out Ex-BP Chiefs about Oil Deals

Representatives of the Alfa Group, set to earn billions of dollars from the sale of Anglo-Russian oil venture TNK-BP, have sounded out former BP CEOs John Browne and Tony Hayward about investing jointly in international oil projects, Reuters reported on its website Wednesday.

German Khan, one of four Russian businessmen who shared control of TNK-BP with BP PLC for a decade, met Mr. Browne and Mr. Hayward and other potential deal partners in London last month, Reuters cited sources familiar with the discussions as saying.

Mr. Khan effectively heads TNK-BP and is Mikhail Fridman's partner in the Alfa Group consortium.

The Alfa-Access-Renova consortium will receive cash of $28 billion for selling their one-half stake in TNK-BP to Russian state-owned oil company OAO Rosneft.

Alfa will get half of that and wants to reinvest much of the money in oil and gas, as well as in telecoms, the sources said in the report.

The other two partners in AAR, mining tycoon Viktor Vekselberg of the Renova Group and Len Blavatnik of Access Industries, are likely to bow out and focus on other ventures and charity work, sources close to TNK-BP and AAR said.

Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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Sound Oil Revises Schedule to Accelerate Cash Flow

Italy-focused Sound Oil announced Wednesday that it has revised its near-term drilling program to accelerate cash flow from its onshore Nervesa discovery and to preserve cash for the company's most material prospects.

Sound plans to drill its Badile prospect as originally scheduled in 2014, but now with a 100-percent equity position in the prospect and Sound operatorship. It also plans to drill the Zibido prospect, a second material exploration prospect in the Po Valley, northern Italy, where Sound's Nervesa discovery is located.

At Nervesa itself Sound is planning to address the northern extension of the discovery by drilling a second well in the fourth quarter of 2013 with a very to accelerating production and cash flow from what the firm describes as its flagship asset.

Meanwhile, Sound confirmed that it would drill the Laura discovery as originally scheduled in 4Q 2014 using a long-reach deviated well from onshore.

Sound will contract a 2,000 to 3,000 horsepower electric rig on an exclusive basis for a period of 18 months beginning in 1Q 2014 in order to cover the Badile, Laura and Zibido drills.

Sound will defer the Strombone appraisal well in order to free up an operational window for its second Nervesa well in 3Q/4Q 2013 and to free up $9 million in cash to fund its increased equity stake in Badile. The firm may also include the Casa Tiberi field development in its 3Q 2014 operational window.

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Sound Oil Revises Schedule to Accelerate Cash Flow

Italy-focused Sound Oil announced Wednesday that it has revised its near-term drilling program to accelerate cash flow from its onshore Nervesa discovery and to preserve cash for the company's most material prospects.

Sound plans to drill its Badile prospect as originally scheduled in 2014, but now with a 100-percent equity position in the prospect and Sound operatorship. It also plans to drill the Zibido prospect, a second material exploration prospect in the Po Valley, northern Italy, where Sound's Nervesa discovery is located.

At Nervesa itself Sound is planning to address the northern extension of the discovery by drilling a second well in the fourth quarter of 2013 with a very to accelerating production and cash flow from what the firm describes as its flagship asset.

Meanwhile, Sound confirmed that it would drill the Laura discovery as originally scheduled in 4Q 2014 using a long-reach deviated well from onshore.

Sound will contract a 2,000 to 3,000 horsepower electric rig on an exclusive basis for a period of 18 months beginning in 1Q 2014 in order to cover the Badile, Laura and Zibido drills.

Sound will defer the Strombone appraisal well in order to free up an operational window for its second Nervesa well in 3Q/4Q 2013 and to free up $9 million in cash to fund its increased equity stake in Badile. The firm may also include the Casa Tiberi field development in its 3Q 2014 operational window.

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Sound Opts to Keep All of its Badile Prospect

Sound Oil announced Tuesday that it has decided to retain its 100-percent position in its Badile exploration prospect in northern Italy.

Sound confirmed that it had received an offer before Feb. 1 to farm into the Badile prospect from an unnamed "Italian oil and gas major". It said that the major had "deep knowledge of the area" having conducted extensive technical due diligence, but that it had decided to decline the offer as it did not reflect the asset's potential.

According to Sound, the Badile prospect potentially holds 185 billion cubic feet of gas or 22 million barrels of oil (MMbo). It is located some 20 miles southeast of the geologically-analogous Villafortuna-Trecate field – which has recoverable reserves of around 250 MMbo.

Sound estimates that an exploration well on the Badile prospect will cost some $27 million. During the next few months the company plans to submit a drilling request and Environmental Impact Assessment to the Italian permitting authorities, targeting a Badile well in 2014 with Sound as an operator.

Sound CEO James Parsons commented in a statement:

"I am pleased to have secured an offer from a credible potential partner, which validates our technical view of the asset.

"We have chosen to retain the upside exposure and also control of project budgets and timelines. We will now prepare for drilling and continued de-risking of the asset whilst remaining open to offers, either after securing the EIA approval or indeed after delivery of a successful exploration well in 2014."

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Sound Oil May Accelerate Laura Field Development

Italy-focused Sound Oil announced Friday that its Laura field development in the Gulf of Taranto may be accelerated after the firm began discussions with the Italian Ministry of Economic Development about the project.

Laura is a 30 billion standard cubic feet discovery, previously discovered by ENI in 1980. Sound said that it is talking to the Ministry of Economic Development about applying directly for a production concession – rather than a permit to drill an appraisal well – in order to accelerate production from Laura by at least a year.

Sound also reported that it recently received a farm-in offer for its Badile exploration prospect from what it described as a "high quality" potential partner. The Badile prospect, onshore Italy in the Po Valley, is estimated to hold resources some 23 million barrels of oil.

The firm's 21 billion cubic feet Nervesa gas discovery in northern Italy is currently undergoing operations to prepare the site ahead of production. These operations will continue until February 12, when written permission from the authorities will be needed to proceed to complete the site.

Meanwhile, Sound is also continuing to revamp field facilities at its Rapagnano field in the Marche region of Italy. These facilities are now expected to be successfully commissioned by the end of February, with first gas following shortly afterward.

Sound added that it has completed a full review of its asset portfolio and expects to put in place a structure divestment process for a package of non-core assets.

"The company is making good progress on its core strategic objectives, including potentially accelerating production from the Laura discovery," Sound CEO James Parsons commented in a statement.

"Whilst Italian approval processes are causing operations at Nervesa and Rapagnano to progress slower than we would have liked, both are moving forward and our focus remains on delivering a successful well and commercial first gas for our shareholders."

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Sound Oil May Accelerate Laura Field Development

Italy-focused Sound Oil announced Friday that its Laura field development in the Gulf of Taranto may be accelerated after the firm began discussions with the Italian Ministry of Economic Development about the project.

Laura is a 30 billion standard cubic feet discovery, previously discovered by ENI in 1980. Sound said that it is talking to the Ministry of Economic Development about applying directly for a production concession – rather than a permit to drill an appraisal well – in order to accelerate production from Laura by at least a year.

Sound also reported that it recently received a farm-in offer for its Badile exploration prospect from what it described as a "high quality" potential partner. The Badile prospect, onshore Italy in the Po Valley, is estimated to hold resources some 23 million barrels of oil.

The firm's 21 billion cubic feet Nervesa gas discovery in northern Italy is currently undergoing operations to prepare the site ahead of production. These operations will continue until February 12, when written permission from the authorities will be needed to proceed to complete the site.

Meanwhile, Sound is also continuing to revamp field facilities at its Rapagnano field in the Marche region of Italy. These facilities are now expected to be successfully commissioned by the end of February, with first gas following shortly afterward.

Sound added that it has completed a full review of its asset portfolio and expects to put in place a structure divestment process for a package of non-core assets.

"The company is making good progress on its core strategic objectives, including potentially accelerating production from the Laura discovery," Sound CEO James Parsons commented in a statement.

"Whilst Italian approval processes are causing operations at Nervesa and Rapagnano to progress slower than we would have liked, both are moving forward and our focus remains on delivering a successful well and commercial first gas for our shareholders."

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View the original article here

Sound Oil May Accelerate Laura Field Development

Italy-focused Sound Oil announced Friday that its Laura field development in the Gulf of Taranto may be accelerated after the firm began discussions with the Italian Ministry of Economic Development about the project.

Laura is a 30 billion standard cubic feet discovery, previously discovered by ENI in 1980. Sound said that it is talking to the Ministry of Economic Development about applying directly for a production concession – rather than a permit to drill an appraisal well – in order to accelerate production from Laura by at least a year.

Sound also reported that it recently received a farm-in offer for its Badile exploration prospect from what it described as a "high quality" potential partner. The Badile prospect, onshore Italy in the Po Valley, is estimated to hold resources some 23 million barrels of oil.

The firm's 21 billion cubic feet Nervesa gas discovery in northern Italy is currently undergoing operations to prepare the site ahead of production. These operations will continue until February 12, when written permission from the authorities will be needed to proceed to complete the site.

Meanwhile, Sound is also continuing to revamp field facilities at its Rapagnano field in the Marche region of Italy. These facilities are now expected to be successfully commissioned by the end of February, with first gas following shortly afterward.

Sound added that it has completed a full review of its asset portfolio and expects to put in place a structure divestment process for a package of non-core assets.

"The company is making good progress on its core strategic objectives, including potentially accelerating production from the Laura discovery," Sound CEO James Parsons commented in a statement.

"Whilst Italian approval processes are causing operations at Nervesa and Rapagnano to progress slower than we would have liked, both are moving forward and our focus remains on delivering a successful well and commercial first gas for our shareholders."

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Sound to Hear of Nervesa Go-Ahead Soon

Italy-focused Sound Oil announced Tuesday that it has successfully concluded the 'Conferenza Servizi' process for its Nervesa appraisal well, onshore northern Italy.

The process is the final step needed for the Ministry of Economic Development and various governmental bodies to approve the drilling of the well. Written authorization approving the appraisal well will now be issued and Sound expects to receive this before the end of January.

Sound also confirmed that preparation of the Nervesa well site has now begun.

Sound Oil CEO James Parsons commented in a statement:

"Nervesa is a 21 billion standard cubic feet gas discovery which was discovered by ENI in 1985 and was put into production for several years. The discovery has an independent assessed base case value of circa $60 million and is a flagship project for the company.

"I am pleased to report that preparatory operations on site have commenced which will accelerate spud of the well once the Autorizzazione is issued. We still expect to receive the written Autorizzazione during January."

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