DQE completes 2D shoot in Mongolia for Manas

DQE completes 2D shoot in Mongolia for Manas

Manas Petroleum's seismic acquisition over its operated Block XIV in Mongolia has been completed without incident by the company's Chinese contractor DQE International Tamsag (Mongol), a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) Daqing Petroleum.

Manas said today that DQE acquired 162.4 km of 2D seismic, representing 54.1% of the total seismic program scheduled for its Blocks XIII and XIV. All equipment and crew have now been mobilized to Block XIII, where seismic acquisition has commenced.

Manas anticipates that the survey will be completed by the end of November. It said that it intends to use the additional 2D seismic data to improve its technical database and its chance of drilling a successful exploration well. After interpretation of the full dataset, the company said it will decide whether it is ready to drill one or more exploration wells or that it needs to acquire 3D seismic to define the drill prospects in better detail.

Depending on this decision, Manas hopes to spud the first well in 2011.

Gobi Energy Partners, a Mongolian subsidiary owned by Manas through its Swiss subsidiary DWM Petroleum, is the operator of Blocks XIII and XIV with 100% interest.