UK-based Ascent Resources said that it is considering increasing its damages claim in the dispute against Slovenia due to the proposed restrictions on hydraulic fracking in the country.
The company said that it has always expected to be able to continue the historic practice of conducting low volume mechanical stimulation techniques in order to flow the tight gas reservoir. The company continues to await fulfillment of the conditions precedent relating to the signed and binding damages based funding agreement for the international arbitration dispute and to demonstrate their confidence in the funding closure.
In January, Slovenian Government adopted draft amendments to the Mining Law which will ban hydraulic fracking. However, companies will be able to receive a hydraulic fracking permit if they inject less than 1,000 cubic meters of water into the well during the fracturing phase or less than 10,000 cubic meters during the entire gas extraction process.
In related news, Ascent has raised its net production revenue forecast for its PG-10 and PG- 11A wells in Slovenia’s Petisovci tight gas field to 150,000 euros per month. In October, Ascent said it expects the PG-10 and PG-11A wells to generate net production revenues of at least 100,000 euros per month.
Ascent Resources has entered into a Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) with the Slovenian company Geoenergo under which it manages operations in the Petisovci oil and gas field. In August 2016, Geoenergo announced that Croatian oil company INA will purchase natural gas from two wells in northeastern Slovenia and transport it to its central gas station in Molve for further processing and cleaning. The current concession for Petisovci gas field was awarded to Geoenergo in 2002 and is due for renewal in 2022.
