Petro Matad shares were down by more than a third in London yesterday after the Mongolian oil explorer said it would have to delay drilling the Snow Leopard play.
The Ulaanbaatar-headquartered company said the Sinopec rig it had contracted had not been certified in time to spud the well before winter conditions set in.
Petro Matad said it intended to start the three-well campaign on Snow Leopard in Spring 2018 instead.
The company said it would either carry on with the current rig, if Sinopec agreed to provide “adequate concessions”, or it will terminate the contract and issue a new tender.
Petro Matad also said it expected to make a decision on potential farm in partners later this year or at the start of next year.
Its shares were down 37.8% to 6.38p on the AIM at 11am today.
Petro Matad chairman Enkhmaa Davaanyam said: “Good progress has been made on discussions with a number of potential farm-in partners and it is very reassuring that all the companies have responded favourably to the technical potential and scale of our licences.
“While we are disappointed not to be able to drill in 2017, the opportunity to high grade additional drilling targets ahead of a rescheduled 3-well drilling campaign in Spring 2018 is clearly beneficial to the long-term value potential of the business and our ability to secure a farm-in partner.”