.

Yes, a large 2.5m sell order was reported late, with that trade being worked all day it will have caused the weakness.

Its all part of the consolidation process and hopefully the likes of RAB/PC are now becoming clear of stock to sell. They will sell into strength and today was a strong demand day so its only natural that some who are selling will sell into it.

PEN-105 is a bigger well in terms of its effect on the outlook of AST, so the potential is a good PEN-105 will push this through 10p.

Pre-Anagni, yes, 15p is easily achievabel since success could push this much nearer 100p levels. Up to 40m to 60m barrels of oil in Italy which is over 80% owned will certainly rerate the price, so expect lots of buying ahead of Anagni-2 spudding fairly soon.

It will be interesting how much upside there is to the GH-1 well. There was a primary target in the Pannonian sands which was the basis of the risked figure.

There were secondary targets, one in the Pannonian and one in the deeper Miocine.

So, from the JKX update we know they hit gas in two Pannonian sandstone levels as stated, and only the Miocine did not hit by deduction (from the AST RNS's we can gather there are three targets and two hit, which ones clarified by the JKX release in their half yearly report.)

So, we hit the primary, and also one of the secondary targets.

JKX also produce from two levels of the Pannonian at a neaby well.

If the initial figure for GH-1 was risked and based solely on the primary target, then there is a little potential for some upside here. All will be revealed when testing is done in 6 weeks time.

JKX half year report is at http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=200908280700301573Y

.

Whilst everyone is focussed on Hungary and the upcoming PEN-105 drill results following the success last week with GH-1, its worth remembering the blue sky potential of the Anagni-2 drill.

Its quoted as being the potential to add "significant reserves" to Ascent Resources.

Various estimates are there, could be 30m barrels up to 60m barrels its said, some say around 20m, others say 40m to 60m. I have always since Anagni-1 liked the 50m figure (just my rose tinted preference).

Anything like that, 50m barrels, on shore Italy in the middle of a oil producing region and well, assign a simple 10 dollars a barrel in the ground and you get 500m US$ or say around about 100 pence a share AST.

It is very worth remembering that, as the speculation is going to get rife as the spud gets near and drilling starts.

Pending permits, its now due to spud in September, which starts tomorrow of course, so really there could be a spud any time soon, however, given its Italy and they have just had a month off one would assume it would be late September if not October, but you never know.

So GH-1 was good, lets hope PEN-105 makes it two from two, and then the third, Anagni-2, is the big one.

PEN-105 drill was announced as being 2 weeks drilling, and then 2 weeks testing anything found.

Rumour has it testing is underway, so deduction is they have found something.

Lets hope for some really good news at the end of testing, be it end of this week,next week, or later.

The longer the wait the better it could all be :)

I think thats a rair summary,just a littlr patience required.
cyril

Hit gas at PEN-105 and now readying for testing.

Also a nice Siwss update, something unexpected but its all free for AST given they allocated nothing to the shales.

So thats now 2 out of 2 for their last 2 drills.

Lets hope Anagni-2 makes it 3 from 3.


http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=200909020700093676Y

RNS Number : 3676Y
Ascent Resources PLC
02 September 2009

Agrees Swiss Exploration Option

Ascent Resources plc, the AIM-traded oil and gas exploration and production company, has signed an agreement with Schuepbach Energy LLC ('Schuepbach') of Dallas, Texas, for an option to participate in the exploration of the Jurassic shales in Ascent's exploration and appraisal project in the Canton of Vaud in Switzerland. The option is exercisable in the event that Schuepbach drills a well to evaluate the potential for gas production from the shales.

Schuepbach have an exploration concession in the Canton of Fribourg which adjoins Ascent's exploration concession in the Canton of Vaud where Ascent hold a 90% beneficial interest with the balance held by SEAG of Switzerland. Under the terms of the option agreement, Schuepbach will earn a 75% interest in the shales if the first well is drilled in Vaud and a 25% interest if the first well is drilled in Fribourg. Ascent and SEAG will retain the rights to the deeper conventional reservoirs from which the Essertines well, drilled in 1962, tested over 1,000 barrels of oil.

Ascent Managing Director Jeremy Eng said, 'Shale gas has become a major contributor to gas production in the United States of America but has not been widely investigated in Europe. Schuepbach Energy's technical expertise in this sector of the industry will be invaluable in assessing the shale gas potential of this part of Switzerland.'

Further to the announcements of 18th and 28th August 2009,,the PEN-105 well in the Penzlek area of the Nys permits in Hungary is being prepared for completion and testing having drilled and logged the primary gas target. The PEN-105 well is an appraisal of the PEN-12 discovery well and the Miocene reservoir formations were present, as anticipated, some 20m shallower than at the PEN-12 location. Test results will be announced in due course.

And so, onwards we go into the Anangi-2 drill. Spudding this month or next.

On shore Italy, potential for up to 40m to 60m barrels of oil.

Potentially worth up to 100p or more to AST.

Thats the explosive potential drill, and now its the next one up, the run in to that drill and its results will be very exciting, much more so than GH-1 and PEN-104, due to the fact it could add considerable, company making, reserves on to AST's books.

I shall keep merrily holding and buying the dips.

Post from OJ.

Oiljack - 2 Sep'09 - 22:41 -

Gh-1 encountered two Pannonian sandstone sequences of around 7 metres net pay. Ghh was correct about the size from the readings I heard about from Hungary....2-3 bcf gross.

Pen 105 encountered two Miocene sand sequences that look very nice and the Pannonian over-hang blanketed sand package that I was hoping for as a secondary hit was not present. Flow rates could be 6 mmscf.d yes Johnny.

A rig will mobilize to drill the Pen 101 and Pen 106 wells back to back in earlier Q4. Pen 104A is doing around 2.3 mmscf.d and should be good until around Christmas. Pen 104AA will then be drilled into the Miocene.

A second larger Panhandle prospect, as mentioned, will be targeted for around the October-November time frame as well.

3d model and approach to building a cash flow machine to fund bigger-better projects seems to be working. I bought some more today.

Gas prices were over $10 mcf for Q2 for AST.

Cheers, OJ

News from OJ, quite exciting the PEN development, could mean from end of Q1 2010 that AST will be generating annualised cash inflow that will pay for all overheads and exploration. Would be well over 10m a year, potentially a lot more.

Certainly lots going on in Q4 of this year, would be nice to get an Anagni-2 spuding date to add the high impact icing on the money making cake.




Here is the post from OJ :

Q4 - Hungary drilling...

Panhandle - The big rig that drilled the successful Gh-1 well has been moved to drill another exploration well for HHE and JKX in the VesZto block. Planning is underway to return the rig to the Panhandle area to test a Miocene (primary prospect) and Pannonian prospect hat is much more robust in size is the Gh-1 well. (12.5% DXE).

Peneszlek - A rig is available for a multi-well drilling campaign in the Pen area that will include the Pen 101, Pen 106, and Pen 104AA (all Miocene development wells) and drilling will get underway in the fourth quarter and will be sequenced so that all three wells get drilled and are tied in for production by or in Q1 - 2010. There should be four development wells tied back for and in production by the end of Q1 -2010.

Latter 2010 would see continued exploration drilling around the Pen 9 and Pen 9 prospect area. The Pen 9 gas well tested at around 2.5 mmscf.d from a proven Miocene gas pool but has been intrepreted to again be off structure at the gas-water contact point like the Pen 105. Unlike the Pen 105, however, it also had good gas shows in the mud logs and even gas kicks in two interpreted overlying Pannonian sandstone sequences. This area is very busted up but should produce more good wells into 2010 and beyond. (37.5% DXE)

That leaves eight identified drills ready to go in the cue already. Three in the Panhandle and five in the Peneszlek area. More as or when I hear it.

Why the Anagni 2 appraisal wel is not a certainty by any means? From the Final results.


The Anagni-1 well had extensive shows in Miocene and Cretaceous dolomitised carbonate formations but was abandoned after extensive testing had only produced very small quantities of oil in conjunction with large volumes of formation water.

Anagni Seismic - Preliminary Results

cent Resources plc, the AIM-traded oil and gas production and exploration company, has received the preliminary results of the seismic acquisition programme on the Frosinone Exploration Permit in the Latina Valley, onshore Italy. The 31 km of new 2-D seismic data indicated that the structure drilled last year by the Anagni-1 well continues up dip in an easterly direction. The new seismic data is of better quality than the previous data acquired in 1980 and 1982 and provides acceptable imaging of the shallower geological horizons, which could not be resolved with the original seismic.



Ascent Managing Director Jeremy Eng said, 'These results from the new seismic are encouraging and planning for the drilling of another Anagni appraisal well can now start. Although the work load of the Perazzoli rigs (Ascent 22.5%) remains high, as the permitting process proceeds, we would hope that we will be able to confirm the availability of a drilling unit in the near future.'




The information contained in this announcement has been reviewed and approved by Eloi Dolivo, Ascent's Senior Exploration Advisor who has 28 years relevant experience in the oil and gas industry.

cyril

Up 10% today, lets hope this bodes well for PEN-105 testing which is in process. Would be nice to get a double whammy of commercial and larger than expected.

Nice write up, and notice the comment about Anangi-2 for this month, so it might be coming sooner than some think.


http://www.oilbarrel.com/nc/news/display_news/article/ascent-resources-secures-shale-partner-for-switzerland-as-drilling-momentum-builds-in-hungary-and-it/771.html


September 08, 2009

Ascent Resources Secures Shale Partner For Switzerland As Drilling Momentum Builds In Hungary And Italy


AIM-listed Ascent Resources plc has a bunch of projects sweeping through the central European mainland, from Hungary right up to the Dutch North Sea, its only offshore foray. In the heart of Europe it is also plying its trade in Slovenia, Italy and Switzerland.

These kind of assets, principally onshore, and within touching distance of large, high-value European markets, provide something of a natural appeal to the company. Though it admits that thus far it has been more focused on reserve growth rather than production growth.

News last week that it had secured a partner for shale gas exploration and appraisal work in Switzerland’s Canton of Vaud continues a strategy that has seen it pair up with others to exploit this geographic advantage.

The company has signed an option agreement with Schuepbach Energy LLC of Dallas to participate in the exploration of the Jurassic shales in the Ascent-led project.

Under the terms of the agreement, Schuepbach will earn 75 per cent interest in the shales if the first well is drilled in Vaud and a 25 per cent interest if the first well is in Fribourg. Currently, Ascent holds a 90 per cent interest in this project, with partner SEAG on 10 per cent.

Significantly, Ascent and SEAG will retain their rights to the deeper conventional oil reservoirs in the area – potentially a very exciting project for Ascent given its main focus on gas.

Though this project remains at appraisal stage the area does have known potential. In 1962, for example, the Essertines well in this area tested more than 1,000 barrels per day (bpd).

Nonetheless, Ascent’s managing director, Jeremy Eng, also sees the long-term value of the shale deposits too. Bringing a partner in from the US – where the exploitation of shale gas is far more advanced than in Europe – appears deliberate, it seems.

“Schuepbach Energy’s technical expertise in this sector of the industry will be invaluable in assessing the shale gas potential of this part of Switzerland,” he said.

The company’s share price has made up most of the ground it lost after a sharp fall in June, and by the start of September, was back to around the early summer levels. But investors will be hoping for more to come on the back of more intensive drilling.

Securing agreements with useful partners has helped to build confidence, as has actual production flow and income. For now, what is of more immediate interest is the drilling activity for the remainder of 2009 – and there is plenty of it.

In Hungary, the PEN-105 well in the Penzlek area of the Nys permits – an appraisal of the PEN-12 discovery – is being prepared for completion and testing having drilled and logged the primary gas target, Ascent disclosed last week.

The Penzlek gas field, Ascent’s primary producing asset, has a current production rate of 4.2 MMscfd. The field benefits from shallow wells and low operating costs, meaning stronger margins.

Test results from the PEN-105 well are to be announced shortly although the company has stated that the Miocene reservoir formations were present, as anticipated, some 20 metres shallower than at the PEN-12 location.

A further three development wells, PEN-101, PEN-106 and PEN-104AA, are planned in the near future with other possible drill sites under investigation.

Drilling is also expected in September on the Gbeha-1 well in the Panhandle area of the Nys permit. This project has been farmed out to Hungarian Horizon – the second biggest gas producer in Hungary, and now operator – and JKX.

In Italy, an appraisal well is also planned this month targeting the shallow part of the Anagni structure in the Latina Valley, to the south-east of Rome. The Anagni-1 well in 2008 proved the presence of good reservoir characteristics and found small quantities of oil.

It means these will be very interesting months for Ascent and its followers, as the pace of drilling intensifies, though what these campaigns actually turn up will be the acid test.

With regards to the current price movements I think they may have drawn from GEM again and it makes sense to do so now with so much going on and in the light of positive drill bit news. This explains the selling of the last week or so and ahead of PEN testing and GH-1 testing and Fontana spudding its the right thing to do for AST as they need to be cashed up ahead of a very busy time with the drill.

In the coming weeks you should get :

PEN-105 testing results.
Fontana-1 spud date.

Then in the coming 6 weeks you should get.

GH-1 testing results
Fontana-1 spudding
Plans for GH-2 announced.

Then in the coming months you have :

GH-2 drilling.
PEN - 3 more drills coming before year end.
Fontana-1 drill results + any testing news



Given that, all being well, GH-1 + PEN-104AA + PEN105 + 3 other PEN wells will have AST being cash generative and able to fund admin and level of exploration by end of Q1 2010 the whole outlook of Ascent is changing rapidly. Short term it may get weak from time to time as the GEM facility is used but provided they keep being successful the price will keep rising, thats obvious.

Roll on PEN-105 news soon.

most positive program,i notice Anagni=2 is not included?
cyril

Anagni-2 is now called "Fontana-1" as per the recently released interims.

Next week should hopefully be news on testing at PEN-105, so some news to look forward to.

Thanks for Fortana info,a little behind at present.
Yes looking forward to the 105 results.
cyril

Excellent news.

PEN-105 flowing higher, more reserves in place than anticipated and also Fontana (Anagni-2) spudding date coming soon too.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=200909150700080440Z

RNS Number : 0440Z
Ascent Resources PLC
15 September 2009


PEN-105 Test Completed

Ascent Resources plc, the AIM-traded oil and gas exploration and production company, through its Hungarian subsidiary PetroHungaria Kft, has completed the testing of the PEN-105 gas well in the Nys permits of Eastern Hungary. The gas rates achieved and the reserves associated with this appraisal well were substantially higher than pre-drill estimates.

The PEN-105 well, an appraisal of the PEN-12 discovery, was drilled to a total depth of 1,487m and has now been completed in the tuffaceous Miocene reservoirs as a production well. Environmental permitting of the pipeline that will be used to bring the gas to market is complete and construction is planned so that gas sales from this well can commence early in 2010. The productive reservoir found at the PEN-105 location is substantially thicker than at the PEN-12 discovery well, which should translate into a significant increase in anticipated reserves for the structure. The higher than expected flow rates are attributed to the use of state-of-the-art drilling mud and perforation technology.

The PEN-105 well is located some 6 kilometres west south west of the PEN-104A gas production well in which Ascent has a 45.23% interest. Other partners in the project include DualEx Energy (37.5%), Geomega (8%), Leni Gas & Oil (7.27%) and Swede Resources (2%).

In Italy permitting has been completed to allow Ascent to commence drilling the Fontana 1 geological appraisal well located in the shallow part of the Anagni structure in the Frosinone Exploration permit in the Latina Valley. The minor civil works required to prepare the site for drilling are due to commence in the coming weeks with spudding expected to occur soon thereafter.

The technical information contained in this release has been reviewed and approved Dr Clive Ninnes, Ascent's Engineering Manager. Dr Ninnes, a member of SPE has 28 years relevant experience in the evaluation of hydrocarbon resources

SP should jump on opening !.

It did and has now dropped back on what i imagine is profit taking? Had i been about at 8am, i would have taken 10p happly,having missed it i will hold as i feel
the news in the not to distent future will take the SP 12p?.Thats before results and depending on the outcome could go a lot higher? aimho
cyril
ps I think a good top is in order.