(Sharecast News) - Georgia-focussed development and production company Block Energy announced on Thursday that well WR-34Z had reached total depth, and drilling operations had ceased.

The AIM-traded firm said testing of the well would start shortly, following completion of the well.

Drilling operations were successfully undertaken by Block's in-house operating team, without incident, on time and within budget, the board confirmed.

It said the drilling of well WR-34Z followed two successful wells, JKT-01Z and WR-B01Za, which had "significantly enhanced" the company's production profile.

As with those wells, WR-34Z was described as a low-cost side-track hole drilled from an existing donor well.

The well horizontally tracked the upper part of the Middle Eocene formation to maximise well productivity, by maximising exposure of the wellbore to productive fractures.

Well WR-34Z was the company's third Project I well out of five planned wells developing the Krtsanisi anticline area of the West Rustavi-Krtsanisi field.

ERCE, the firm's reserve auditor, had attributed gross 3P reserves of 3.01 million barrels, with a net present value of $57m to the area.

Internal estimates ascribed 27.5 million barrels of 3C contingent resources to the entire Project I West Rustavi-Krtsanisi full field development.

"We are encouraged by progress to date on well WR-34Z, with drilling operations having successfully gone to plan," said chief executive officer Paul Haywood.

"The well will now be tested before being brought into production alongside the other two successful Project I wells.

"I would like to thank our in-house operations team and subsurface team for all their hard work, which has again ensured this programme achieved its pre-test objectives, delivering the plan safely, on time and within budget."

At 1344 BST, shares in Block Energy were up 5.19% at 1.42p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.