June 2008 Presentation : Link here

March 2008 AST Write Up : Link TMF Post Ascent Article Archive Folder : Link to AST archive folder

Detailed Info on Italian Prospects : Link to post 2 (Explo.)

Detailed Info on Swiss Prospects : Link to post 3 (Explo.)

Detailed Info on Spanish Prospects : Link to post 4 (Prod. + Explo.)

Detailed Info on Dutch Prospects : Link to post 5 (Explo.)

Detailed Info on Hungarian Prospects : Link to post 6 (Prod + Explo.)

Detailed Info on Slovenia & Gabon Prospects : Link to post 7 (Explo.)



Web Site : http://www.ascentresources.co.uk

Email : info@ascentresources.co.uk

Sign up for email news alerts here : Click Here


Oil and Gas Guide for those who want to know more : Link to PDF file

Don't forget to get your entries in for Decembers UK Stock Challenge.

http://www.stockchallenge.co.uk/sc/index.htm


AST is one of my choices, naturally.

Ascent Resources Italian Farm-in

RNS Number:2957J
Ascent Resources PLC
06 December 2007

Ascent Resources plc / Epic: AST / Index: AIM / Sector: Oil and Gas
6th December 2007

Ascent Resources plc ("Ascent" or "the Company")
Italian Po Valley Gas Project Farm-Out Update

Ascent Resources plc, the AIM-traded oil and gas exploration and production
company, has entered into an agreement whereby Otto Energy Limited ("Otto") will
participate in the farm out of a 50% interest in the 828 sq km Cento and
Bastiglia exploration permits in the Po Valley of Italy. The first of two wells
is scheduled to be drilled in the second half of 2008 and targets the Gazzata
prospect, which has a third party estimated recoverable reserve of over 100 Bcf
of gas.

The new agreement supersedes the farm-in agreement with Deltana, previously
announced on 1 August 2007. The terms remain essentially unchanged with Deltana and Otto paying a contribution towards the project back costs and the purchase of existing seismic data. Deltana and Otto will also pay 100% of the cost of the first exploration well and 100% of the cost of a second exploration well if
the first well discovers commercial quantities of gas.

The future value of the farm-in package amounts to circa Euro13 million.

Ascent Managing Director Jeremy Eng said, "The latest phase of exploration in
the Po Valley uses state-of-the art techniques in seismic processing, which
still further improves the already impressive success rate in gas exploration in
the region. The Cento and Bastiglia permits, which are among the largest in the
area, have multiple exploration targets as well as established infrastructure
close to hand. This farm-out again confirms the strength of Ascent's strategy
and demonstrates the depth of the Company's portfolio of European projects."

The Po Valley, which extends across the northern part of Italy from Turin in the
west to Venice and Ravenna in the east, is the one of the most productive areas
for gas and oil onshore Europe. Since the 1950s, over 130 fields have been put
on production. Ascent's exploration permits are centrally located near the
cities of Modena to the south, Mantova to the north and Bologna to the south
east.

Otto Energy Limited is an Australian public company with projects in Turkey,
Argentina and the Philippines. The division of the 50% participating interest
between Otto and Deltana are subject to an agreement between those two companies and their participating interests are to be finalised by 31st March 2008.

I have entered AST into the 2008 TMF Stock Competition, luckily nobody chose AST before me :)

My write up is here :

http://boards.fool.co.uk/Message.asp?mid=10845217


The competition thread, with rules of entry, is here :

http://boards.fool.co.uk/Message.asp?mid=10838736&bid=&sort=whole#10845218

Ascent Resources PLC
21 December 2007

Ascent Resources plc / Epic: AST / Index: AIM / Sector: Oil and Gas


Ascent Resources plc ('Ascent' or 'the Company')
Resumes testing the Anagni-1 well in Italy

Ascent Resources plc, the AIM-traded oil and gas exploration and production
company, announces that the workover operations on the Anagni-1 well in the
Frosinone Exploration Permit in the Latina Valley, Italy, have been completed
and that testing is expected to recommence today.

The full potential of the well will not be known until large quantities of
drilling fluids (drilling 'mud') that were lost into the reservoir formation
while drilling are recovered. These losses, which are characteristic of high
permeability reservoirs in the region are due to the fractured nature of the
rock and will enhance the productivity of the formation. So far an estimated
75% of the volume of the lost fluids has been recovered. Core analysis results
are encouraging for the oil potential of the well and the downhole equipment
which uses the same pump as before has been reconfigured to more efficiently
reach a conclusive test result.

Ascent has an 80% interest in the Anagni-1 well and the Company will release
further information on the progress of the testing operations as and when
available.

Still holding, looks like we've turned and with news expected soon on Anagni test, 2008 could be a good year for holders of these shares.

Just a recap of the Otto Energy farm in. Another point to note is that the drilling rig will be coming from Ascent Drilling, so while not only are Otto paying for the first drill, but a good chunk of that payment recirculates back into profit for Ascent Resources, via their holding in the drilling company.

Nice little set up going on now by the Ascent board, and it will be very interesting to see what profits are contributed by Ascent Drilling come the prelims for full year 2008 (albeit that is some time away as yet).

It really is a major year ahead for Ascent imv, apart from everything else, there are a few major milestone events ahead.

1/ Bajsca drilling in Q1 - very decent sized potential, and quick cash flow.
2/ Nyirseg production on line in late H1, new 3D sesmic and a reserves report.
3/ Anagni update in Q1 + plus updip wells later in Q2 or Q3.
4/ Po Valley first drill results in Q4
5/ Switzerland first drill results in late Q4



http://www.oilvoice.com/n/Otto_Energy_farms_Into_Large_Onshore_Exploration_Acreage_in_the_Po_Valley_Italy/1c933b85.aspx

Otto Energy farms Into Large Onshore Exploration Acreage in the Po Valley, Italy

Friday, December 07, 2007


Otto Energy announces that it will acquire 50% of the Bastiglia- Cento Exploration Permits, in the Po Valley of onshore Italy, from Ascent Resources plc.

Highlights

• The two adjacent Bastiglia - Cento Exploration Permits are considered highly prospective with multiple hydrocarbon prospects and leads already identified

• The first well, Gazzata-1, will be drilled around September 2008, targeting prospective gas resources of over 100bscf equivalent to potentially over A$200 million in value to Otto.

• Minimum commitment for Otto to earn 50% in the two permits is approximately A$10 million and in the event of a significant commercial gas discovery in the first well, Otto will also fund 100% of drilling and testing of a second well.

• Otto intends to purchase the seismic out of current funds and fund the drilling out of anticipated revenues from the Galoc Oil Field, which is scheduled to commence production in April 2008.

• Otto’s joint venture partner and operator of the Italian permits is Ascent Resources Plc, an AIM-listed company with an established office in-country and considerable drilling expertise in the area.

Commenting on the announcement Alex Parks CEO of Otto Energy said:

“This new acquisition is a perfect fit for Otto as we continue to build our portfolio of onshore and offshore oil and gas assets with a pipeline of projects that span across exploration, development and production.

“The Bastiglia - Cento Exploration permits are considered to be highly prospective and relatively low risk. The Gazzata prospect alone could be worth up to A$200 million to Otto in the event of a commercial discovery, and there is significant follow up potential in a variety of different play types, some of which could hold up to 1 TCF gas resource potential.

L2 is all blue today and presently 7 v 1 @ 17/18.25 with just JEFF on the offer at 18.25p

Moving up nicely again, lets hope it continues :)

Chart recovering with Moving Averages starting to cross into positive territory, although RSI oversold.

Out of interest :

L2 is now 7 v 9 @ 18/19.5

On Line Limits are :

BUY 75K @ 19p

SELL 75K @ 18.65p

Anagni-1 update
Ascent Resources plc, the AIM-traded oil and gas exploration and production
company is continuing testing operations at the Anagni-1 well in the Frosinone
Exploration Permit in the Latina Valley, onshore Italy. Although not yet
conclusive, preliminary results from this phase of the well testing are not
encouraging with the absence of significant hydrocarbons in the produced fluids
being noted.

Full details:
AST - Anagni-1 update

Not brilliant then... But see PP's notes earlier

Well that blew the SP recovery out of the window!

Just logged in and saw AST at 11p levels and thought "must be an Anagni update".....

We will have to wait for the new seismic and then crest wells for some more Anagni excitement it seems, that was always the fear with the well being on the flank.....

C'est la vie, onwards to Bajsca news, then Nyirseg it seems, Po Valley will be the major driving Italian prospect now while they continue the diagnosis and forward action plan required with Anagni, the good thing is that the next drill can easily be slotted in, as of course they own their own drilling rig company now, in effect :)

Bad luck short termers, and those long term can keep the faith and look forward to news in a couple of months.

Bad luck long termers as well!

Not really, you have Bajsca and Nyirseg news for H1, then the big Po Valley drills and Switzerland in H2.

And at any time Anagni and a crest well can rear its head......

Long terms willing to hold should be rewarded. At 15p Anagni was not in the price, it was at 30p but not at 15p. Its cheap as chips now looking forward imv.

It looks like the old Chaco Resources which is now Amerisur.

This story sounds familiar when it comes to oil minnows ... pie in the sky.

There will be lots of short term and perhaps some longer term holders who have sold out. There will also be those who went short on the news. Its always the case that you get a sudden rush of "well its all over for AST" post for a few days, until they either get over selling, or close their shorts.

This is why stocks always overswing on bad news, the emotion of it all and the short term play (eg short).

Anagni is not at all over as yet, and the updip wells on the crest may yield the answers we hope for, however I do feel Anagni-1 is also not all over yet, although the chances look very low now for any commercial success, however, the very fact is that for some reason they are not calling it a total failure, perhaps pride is blinding them, but I am sure there has to be specific reasons as to why they have said its inconclusive and even now the lost drilling fluids may as yet still be masking whats really going on down there. Perhaps they follow this route as it allows them an excuse for getting it wrong, or perhaps its because the whole thing really is up in the air and nobody knows as yet.

There has been constant reference to the well being on the "flank" and this always raised the risk levels of non-commerical oil finds in this area, being on the flank of a structure is not where you want to be, but we know this well was not looking for oil, so being where it was was in fact good (as we hit a structure), even though now for the shorter term its bad (as its on the flank).

Therefore, it does make very obvious sense to now run seismic, find the very best places to go for A-2 and A-3 wells updip, and perhaps the seismic will reveal as to why this area of the flank appears so far to be non-productive. There is oil there, the question is where is it ? And so, whilst those unwilling to hold have bailed out we should refocus on what is going on for AST now away from Anagni :

We have :

Bajsca in H1 (horizontals)
Nyirseg in H1 (production of the gas going on line once the pipeline is finished).
Szolnok in H1 (for gas, again Hungary)
Po Valley gas drill in H2
Switzerland drill in H2.


So lets reflect on what is going on presently, ignoring Anagni :

Development plans:

Hungary- Nyirseg (54.45%)- This field has three commercial wells which are being included in the current development study, with the aim of initial production in H1 08. Pen-104 (which flowed at a restricted 3.4MMscfd) was discovered by AST, and its success has opened up the possibility of developing two former discoveries, Pen-12 (which has an estimated 2bcf recoverable), and Pen-9 (which has an estimated 26bcf recoverable). Pipeline will be complete and field into production by end of H1.

Hungary- Bajsca (45%)- Tight gas redevelopment project in partnership with MOL; technical studies have confirmed the economic viability of the project using horizontal recompletion techniques. The first of these recompletions should be commenced soon (PetroHungaria (90% owned by AST) to drill the wells with MOL providing the infrastructure).


Exploration to date:

In the Nyirseg permit (Hungary, 54.45%) we have had one commercial discovery from a four well drilling program. This was Pen-104: the target which flowed had a Most Likely size of 2.3bcf, but given the high flow rate this is likely to be revised upwards. The other three wells had varying results. Vam-1 hit good quality gas but not enough to suggest a commercial reservoir, so was P&A. FGY-2 hit water in a reservoir quality interval; this was encouraging enough to have the company plan to drill nearby at FGY-1 in the next round of drilling. Pen-102 intercepted a fault system en-route to the target Miocene tuffs (which contained only residual gas). The fault system was subjected to a well seismic survey with the intention of planning a sidetrack with the objective of entering the Miocene gas reservoir in a more favourable location at a later date.
3-D seismic acquisition planned over field area

Other plans:

Quick Summary of present pending drills to 2009 (schedule will be added to and ammended as time goes by) :

Hungary - Bajsca - 2 Horizontal recompletions to start in Dec 2007
Hungary - Szolnok - 2 wells to be drilled in H1 2008
Italy Frosinone - Anagni - 2 drills to be done for oil
Italy Frosinone - Veroli - 1 well to be drilled for oil.
Italy - Bastiglia - 2 wells to be drilled for gas in H2 2008.
Swiss - Bern 2 - 1 well to be drilled in Q4 2008 for gas.
Holland - M11 - 1 well to be drilled in 2009 for gas
Holland - M8 - 1 well to be drilled in 2009 for gas.

**********

Hungary - Szolnok - (27.5% AST) - Seismic work and 2 wells are planned to be drilled in H1 2008

Spain- Rocamundo- an application has been made for this exploration license (to the north west of ayoluengo) with Tethys and Shesa.

Italy- Po Valley (49%)- Otto Energy will pay the cost of the first exploration well (and if successful the second) on the 130bcf Gazatta-1 prospect. Second prospect would be Palazzo-1, target 116 Bcf. Well location permitting is currently underway. Otto have also contributed to historical costs and will pay the first 1.5 million euro's of seismic expenditure on the permits. First two prospects to be drilled in H2 2008.

Switzerland (50%)- (in Vaud) an oil exploration permit containing a 1962 oil discovery at Essertines and (in Bern) two gas exploration permits containing a gas discovery each (Linden, 1972; Hermrigen, 1982); all three also contain unexplored Triassic potential. The results of the prospectivity report, created by reprocessing seismic data, acquiring new seismic surveys and geochemical analysis, were integrated into a new geological model. The next stage of finding suitable drilling locations has commenced and wells will be drilled in Q4 2008.

Holland (45.75%)- Four offshore licences covering a total of 795 square kilometres. One of these (M11) contains a discovery from 1982 which flowed at 2MMscfd; with technological improvements this may be increased towards commerciality. A 3D seismic survey requires reinterpreting, and geological and geophysical work is underway. Drilling is planned for 2009/2010 depending on rig availability.

Slovenia, Petisovci Globoki (15.75% and operator)- This field is considered as an extension of the Bajsca tight gas field in Hungary. One well previously drilled, D-14, intersected minor gas and water (only produced after three fracture stimulation attempts), but when deepened deeper reservoirs with estimated P50 gas in place of 579Bcf had strong gas shows which did not produce from an open-hole test (fracture stimulation was not attempted). Preliminary engineering studies are ongoing.

Slovenia, Petisovci Dolina (45% and operator)- total 2P reserves of 10.7mmbl.

Other interests:

In Gabon, after some shrewd investment (receiving back costs and 404,350 Afren shares), we have a 1.75% net profits royalty in two Production Sharing Contracts (the Iris Marin and Themis Marin, both operated by Sterling Energy). Both have extensive 2D and 3D seismic. Themis Marin is the more advanced licence which is scheduled to be drilled in Q3, while the seismic for Iris Marin is being processed with results due later this year.

AST have purchased 22.5% of an Italian drilling contractor. The company currently has one 2000m+ rig, and will acquire a 3,600m-capable rig by mid-2008. AST expect to utilise these rigs for around 20% of their operational time.

And then there is Angani - but lets put that one to sleep for a few weeks and allow the others some time in the fresh air............ ;)

Thanks for all your input and research PP, I enjoy reading and assimilating all the info you post although I don't actively participate.

Nice write up on the link below :)


Ascent Resources - Broad portfolio strategy brings benefits

09-Jan-2008

While the market is disappointed about Anagni, notable progress has been made elsewhere including the farm-out ofthe Cento and Bastiglia exploration permits

http://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/articles/art.php?AST4


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