Zephyr Energy begins remediation work at Paradox well

Rocky Mountains-focussed oil and gas company Zephyr Energy updated the market on its project in the Paradox Basin in Utah on Thursday, where it was preparing to spud the 'dual-use' State 16-2 well before the end of the year.

The AIM-traded firm confirmed the start of remediation work on the State 16-2 well pad and access road.

It said the pad preparations and road work were expected to take less than five days, and would be completed well ahead of the scheduled rig mobilisation in early December.

“I am delighted that we have started operational activity on the ground, fully in line with our plans to spud the State 16-2 well before the end of the year,” said chief executive officer Colin Harrington.

“Furthermore, in line with our mission to be responsible stewards of both our capital and of the environment in which we work, it should be noted that one of many benefits to the State 16-2 site selection is co-location of the new well on a pre-existing well pad.”

Harrington said that, by re-using the pad, the company would minimise environmental disruption by taking advantage of existing road and site infrastructure, thus reducing costs, the timeline and surface footprint impacts.

“We have also worked with the state of Utah to develop a plan to responsibly plug and abandon the existing inactive well on site, an activity which we will undertake shortly after the road work is complete.

“The next few weeks will be a period of intense activity for the company, and we look forward to keeping the market updated on our progress as we deliver on t1he key milestone of drilling the State 16-2 well.”

At 1455 GMT, shares in Zephyr Energy were up 2.77% at 0.62p.