88 Energy Ltd, Westmount Energy Ltd, United Oil & Gas PLC, Genel Energy PLC,

88 Energy Ltd (LON:88E) announced that drilling had begun for the Merlin-1 exploration well in the North Slope area of Alaska. The drill rig began drilling the well at 03:38 on March 10, it said.

It detailed that initially the well will be drilled to 1,500 feet at which point surface casing and blow-out preventer will be installed. This is due to take a week, before drilling then resumes down to a maximum target depth of around 6,000 feet. That phase of drilling will last for three to five days.

Westmount Energy Ltd (LON:WTE) expected the start of operations for the next well at the Canje block, offshore Guyana. The company, in a statement, noted an announcement by Guyana’s Maritime Administration Department, that the Stena Carron drillship will begin drilling operations at the Jabillo-1 wellsite on 10 March.

Jabillo will be the second of three exploration wells scheduled for the Exxon-led Canje block this year. It is described as a 1bn barrel prospect, in the Late Cretaceous basin fan system.

United Oil & Gas PLC (LON:UOG) spudded the ASD-1X exploration well in the Abu Sennan Licence in Egypt.

The ASD-1X well will test a number of stacked reservoir targets, primarily Abu Roash ‘C’ and ‘E’ whilst the ‘G’ reservoir is marked as a secondary target. The well is located to the north-east of the producing Al Jahraa Field. This is the second well in the 2021 campaign and follows ASH-3 which in February impressed with expectation-beating results.

Genel Energy PLC (LON:GENL) told investors that the Sarta-3 well has begun production. It sees the Sarta field, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, now producing more than 10,000 barrels of oil per day.

The company, in a brief statement, said it expects production volumes to increase from the two current production wells through the optimisation of the field’s production facilties.

Earlier in the week, Genel noted the latest payments received from the Kurdistan Regional Government for oil sales made in January.

It received a total of US$23.9mln in net payments – comprising US$10.9mln for its share of the Tawke field, US$6.5mln for the Tawke override, US$2.6mln from its stake in the Taq Taq field and US$1.5mln from the Sarta field.

Aminex PLC’s (LON:AEX) joint venture partner Ara Petroleum is going to shoot 3D seismic at the Ruvuma project ahead of the Chikumbi-1 well programme. As well as assisting preparations for the well, the acquisition of a high-resolution 3D seismic survey is of primary importance for the preparation of the field development plan, the company said.

Canadian Overseas Petroleum Ltd (LON:COPL, CSE:XOP) raised £14mln through a share placing with the proceeds earmarked for its new North American assets, which are being acquired in the Atomic Oil & Gas deal. The company yesterday, after the close, launched a bookbuild process for the funding which this morning was confirmed as closed.

COPL highlighted that the share sale process was oversubscribed.  Some 4.3bn new shares are being sold to institutional investors and high net worth private investors/family offices. The shares are priced at 0.32p per share.

Diversified Gas & Oil PLC (LON:DGOC) chief executive Rusty Hutson said he was exceptionally pleased with the resilience of the company’s business model, as it released full-year results for 2020.

Earnings (adjusted EBITDA) rose by 10% to US$301mln (£217mln) for the year, bolstered by hedge cash settlements of US$145mln which significantly offset lower gas prices during the year. It reported a US$23mln net loss, versus US$99mln in net income in the prior year. Revenue, including the hedge income, totalled US$553mln marking an 8% increase on 2019’s tally.

DGOC achieved a new company record for production, with the 2020 exit rate measuring around 100,000 barrels oil equivalent per day which is some 18% above the volume at the end of 2019.