UK oil explorer Max Petroleum has announced the discovery of a zone of oil in a well in Kazakhstan, sending its shares soaring.
Testing at the UTS-1 well on the Uytas prospect in Western Kazakhstan has revealed 16 metres of oil at shallower depths than the current position, with the oil column potentially stretching for 86 metres.
The company said it would now drill ahead from the current intermediate depth of 300 metres to explore deeper targets at around 900 metres, before returning to the shallower zones to test the find.
The company holds a 100 per cent interest in the Blocks A&E licence area, which covers over 12,455 square kilometres in the Pre-Caspian Basin in Western Kazakhstan.
The Pre-Caspian Basin has produced some of the world’s largest oil and gas discoveries, including the Tengiz, Kashagan, Karachaganak and Astrakhan fields, which range in size from seven to 20 billion barrels of oil equivalent in recoverable reserves.
Commenting on the find, Max Petroleum’s executive co-chairman Robert Holland said: “The initial results of Uytas are very encouraging and could prove to be significant given the apparent size of the oil column.
“While we need to finish drilling the well to evaluate it fully, we are excited to have a potential commercial discovery before reaching our principal objectives.”
Headquartered in London and listed on AIM, Max is an independent oil and gas exploration and development company focused on Kazakhstan.
The company employs approximately 150 people, over 90 per cent of whom are based in Kazakhstan.
