Ascent Resources, through its wholly owned subsidiary Ascent Resources Italia srl (ARI), has completed operations on the Fontana-1 well in Italy's Latina Valley. A core sample taken from the limestone of the target Carbonate Platform formations contained live oil, while deeper dolomite horizons have been shown to contain water from data acquired from logging tools. The Partners believe that the results are sufficiently encouraging to proceed with the permitting of a hydrocarbon appraisal well, the Anagni-2, located within 1 km of the Fontana-1 location, which will target a smaller adjacent structure.

The Fontana well, was permitted and drilled as a geological appraisal well to collect cores from the carbonate platform identified while drilling the nearby Anagni-1 well. The target Carbonate platform formations have been found over 300m shallower than in the original Anagni-1 well. At the planned Anagni-2 location, it is expected that they will be even shallower still at an estimated 300m below ground level. Importantly, the Fontana-1 well have confirmed the presence of a second thrust formation within the complex geology of this region.

In the Penészlek project in eastern Hungary, the project Partners have made the decision to plug and abandon the PEN-106 well after a drill stem test ('DST') showed the target Miocene tuffaceous formations to be water bearing at the well location. The drilling rig will now return to PEN-101 to drill a short sidetrack to bypass the damaged cementation in that production well.

Tags: Ascent Resources plc