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Melbana Energy (ASX:MAY) prepares for drilling in Cuba

ASX News, Energy
ASX:MAY      MCAP $185.3M
26 November 2021 12:30 (AEST)

Sunrise at drilling camp. Source: Melbana

Melbana Energy (MAY) has announced it will resume drilling at its Alameda-1 well in the block nine area, onshore Cuba after shutting earlier this month.

Melbana had seized activity on its 1892 metre well because it encountered a high-pressure zone roughly 350 metres shallower than predicted. The delayed mud material included items needed to manage the unexpected high-pressure zone.

The company is expecting the shipment of mud materials on Monday, November 29.

In the interim of the closure, MAY carried out much-needed maintenance work on the site which included improvements to the rig capabilities that MAY had already implemented to better manage these drilling conditions.

Additional managed pressured drilling capabilities will be added to the rig to reduce response times to any future significant increases in the pore pressure.

Melbana’s Executive Chairman Andrew Purcell said the team should be commended for their tireless efforts during this period.

“Our geoscience team have been working hard to integrate the results of the extensive hydrocarbon shows we have already encountered (in a zone we did not previously consider prospective) into our geological model and now the increased pressure encountered immediately below a shale interval speaks promisingly to a functioning seal and therefore another zone of interest,” he said.

Melbana Energy shares were trading up 9.09 per cent at 2.4 cents apiece at 12:29 pm AEDT.

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