Latin American oil producer and explorer President Energy (PPC:AIM) gains 6.9% to 33.95p as it announces its three-well campaign in Paraguay is set to commence within two weeks. The company also confirms it has achieved its full participating interest of 59% in the targeted Pirity concession.
It is funded for its 2014 plans having raised £30.7 million in an oversubscribed placing in February (6 Feb). Following a 2012 farm-in President holds majority working interests in two blocks covering 16,000 square kilometres of the Pirity sub-basin in Paraguay, a continuation of the producing Olmedo basin in Argentina. Independent consultant RPS estimates the Jacaranda, Jurumi and Yacare targets contain gross mean, unrisked prospective resources of just under 1.1 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
Jacaranda will be targeted first and preparations are nearly 70% complete. This first well contains four possible targets and in sum the Paraguayan drilling is expected to take until the end of the year to complete. Success would open up a new oil province and have major implications for Paraguay, which currently imports all its oil and gas.
