Resource round-up: Sound Oil, Victoria Oil & Gas, Max Petroleum

Sound Oil jumped 16% after it said received approval key environmental approvals from regional authorities in Italy to re-start gas production at its Rapagnano field. It is expected that the final approval from the Italian Ministry of Economic Development will follow in a month, the firm said. Operations at the site will then commence with a view to achieving first production before the end of the year.

Victoria Oil & Gas said an independent audit of its Logbaba Gas and Condensate Field in Cameroon resulted in a 50% increase in total proven reserves and contingent resource gas volumes. Chairman Kevin Foo said the report underlined his firm's belief that there were no gas supply constraints from Logbaba for the foreseeable future. "[This] will benefit us as we seek to build production and take advantage of the growing energy demand in Cameroon," he said.

Max Petroleum said it had begun drilling the BSBNE-1 exploration well on the Besbolek North-East prospect in Kazakhstan. Total vertical depth of the well would be approximately 1,580m, it said. The firm is targeting unrisked mean resources of 10m barrels of oil in Triassic reservoirs. Investors pushed shares up 5% by 1415 on Monday, however, they are still down 69% compared to a year ago.

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