Ascent to have second bite at Fontana-1 well

22nd Dec 2009 16:39

AIM-listed oil and gas company Ascent Resources is to have another crack in January of next year at drilling the Fontana-1 well in Italy's Frosinone permit, after the first attempt experienced mechanical problems at the target depth.'The drilling of the Fontana-1 well is substantially under budget and both it and the replacement well will be drilled for a total cost estimated to be only 20% in excess of the original budget,' the company said in a statement.Ascent's managing director, Jeremy Eng, said the additional cost of drilling the well a second time would put the project less than £100,000 over budget, while 'the potential upside from Fotana-1 still remains.'