Shares of Canada’s Vast Exploration plunged 60% in morning trade after the company said it was unable to maintain the production rate at a well in Iraq during a test, reports Reuters.
Shares of the Calgary, Alberta-based company were trading down at 20 Canadian cents on the Toronto Venture Exchange. It was the most heavily traded stock on the exchange, as investors rushed to sell.
Shares of Niko Resources, which operates the Qara Dagh well, were down slightly at C$63.19 on the Toronto Stock Exchange while shares of Groundstar Resources, which has a 6% beneficial interest in the block, dived 30% to 21 Canadian cents, on the Toronto Venture Exchange, according to Reuters.
Vast Exploration, which holds a 37% working interest in the Qara Dagh block, said the well produced a maximum of 550 barrels of oil per day and 800 thousand standard cubic feet per day of gas, although these rates were not sustained for the entire duration of the test.
Vast Exploration said the well, drilled to 3,908 meters, could be deepened to an additional 250 meters at the end of the current testing.
