Following initial news that their Sangaw-1 well in Kurdistan proved “disappointing”, British oil explorer Sterling Energy has revealed that further tests confirmed the well has no commercial flow of oil or gas.
Sterling will now plug and abandon the well.
“We are disappointed that flow testing has not demonstrated commercial hydrocarbon flow rates in the Sangaw North-1 well,” said Chief Executive Angus MacAskill in a company statement on Wednesday.
Sterling said in June that the deeper parts of the Sangaw North-1 well did not flow hydrocarbons at commercial rates, hurting the company’s shares. They have fallen 20% in the last month and 71% over the last 12 months.
In addition to its acreage in Kurdistan, Sterling also has exploration assets in Cameroon and Madagascar but currently has no plans to drill at those locations for political reasons, according to a Reuters report
The company said it will now consider whether to enter the next phase of exploration on the Sangaw North area as the current phase expires this November.
