Circle Oil shares rise as production edges ahead in Eqypt

Circle Oil's shares rose four per cent as the group moved further ahead on its Al Amir SE (AASE) and the Geyad fields in Egypt.

The oil and gas company said production from the AASE and Geyad fields averaged 9,091 barrels of oil per day gross through January.

Cumulative production from the NW Gemsa Concession has exceeded 10.4m barrels of 42 degree API crude oil.

The AASE-14X ST1 well has encountered pay intervals as prognosed in the Shagar and Rahmi sands and will be completed as a producer to complement the production levels from the AASE field.

"The start up of gas flow through the 12-inch pipeline from our Geyad and AASE fields is another significant step forward as this production is expected to add approximately 2,000 [barrels of oil equivalent per day] to the daily gross production," said Chief Executive Officer, Chris Green.

The 12-inch gas pipeline has been tied in and gas production started on Tuesday with an initial flow rate of 8.0m standard cubic feet per day and is now up to 9.0m.

The gas is rich in extractable liquids that will add significantly to the income stream for Circle.Gas processing, the company said.

Work on finalising the development and day to day operations of the AASE and Geyad fields will continue through 2013, it added.

RD