Eland Oil and Gas confirmed today that work on a sidetrack well had begun on its core asset in Nigeria.
The Westhill-based firm, which focuses on exploration in west Africa, said the OES Teamwork rig had been at the Opuama Field, OML 40, for a week.
It expects the Opuama-7 well to be completed in October.
The well should add another 5,900 barrels of oil per day to Eland’s production.
Eland also said Elcrest Exploration and Production took delivery of 153,000 barrels of crude from the Forcados Terminal in August, generating revenues of $7.9million for the Aberdeenshire firm.
Pipeline exports to the Forcados terminal had been disrupted by militant activity in the Niger Delta, meaning output from OML 40 had to be carried by ship between January and May.
Eland chief executive George Maxwell said: “We are very pleased by the positive start to the Opuama-7 sidetrack operations and we look forward to the successful completion with initial production forecast at 5,900 barrels of oil a day commencing in October.
“We are also very happy with the continued monetisation of OML 40’s crude delivered to the Forcados terminal. The recent noteworthy levels of production and record uptime are extremely encouraging and ahead of our forecasts.
“We look forward to Elcrest’s liftings and revenues growing further with the successful completion of the Opuama-7 sidetrack”