DNO has updated its drilling operations in Blocks 43, 47 & 53 in Yemen and in the Erbil license in Kurdistan, where the Erbil-2 well has tested 200-300 bopd of heavy oil.

Yemen:
The Nabrajah-10S/S2 well in Block 43 was completed in January and brought on stream for clean-up and test production. The well is currently flowing 38 bpd of oil and 543 bpd of water.

After finishing the pilot hole, the well was drilled as a horizontal well of about 1000 meters in the Shuqra formation which is believed to be the producing formation in Nabrajah-5. The well has confirmed movable oil 186 m vertically deeper than Na-5 and opens up for improved recovery from this formation. Work will be undertaken to further evaluate the results from the Nabrajah-10s/S2 well and its impact on estimated reserves and production potential.

Drilling of the appraisal well Yaalen-3 in Block 47 is expected to commence during March.
The Bayoot-7 Basement development well in Block 53 is now completed. A 650 meter section has been drilled in the fractured basement reservoir and the well is completed as a Bayoot basement producer. The well has been brought on stream and is currently producing 149 bopd. The next well to be drilled on Bayoot is the Bayoot-8, which is the first of a 4 well development drilling program to be undertaken in 2010.

Kurdistan:
The Sindy-1 rig was mobilized and moved to the Erbil PSC during January to undertake testing of the Erbil-2 well. The testing is now nearing completion. A total of 4 tests have been carried out in the well to date, with only the last test flowing oil. The flow rate from this test has been in the order of 200-300 bopd. The oil appears to be of heavy quality (16 API) and similar to the oil produced during a test in the equivalent formation in Hawler-1.

The remaining program is to test one more zone before the well is temporarily suspended. The results from the tests will then be evaluated to clarify the resource potential of the Benenan structure, and if this work is completed by then, the resource potential will be reported as part of the Annual Statement of Reserves (ASR) which will be disclosed by end April. A forward plan for the Erbil license will be filed with the Ministry of Mineral Resources (MNR) by June this year.