Afentra (AIM:AET), the London-listed oil and gas junior, said on Monday that it will move its Borr Grid rig directly to drill the Impala-2 development well, delaying the Pacassa SW sidetrack while equipment and planning for that operation are finalised.
The AIM-listed company expects Impala-2 to spud in mid-October, with drilling and completion taking roughly 80 days and first oil targeted for January 2027 at an initial gross rate of approximately 4,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd).
Once Impala-2 is complete, the rig will return to sidetrack and complete Pacassa SW, with first oil from that well now expected in the first quarter of 2027 following connection to existing Pacassa production infrastructure.
Pacassa SW's original wellbore struck oil in August, reaching a total depth of 5,381 metres and encountering 136 metres of net oil pay in the fractured Albian Pinda carbonate formation, a discovery Afentra had flagged as the first new well delivered on Block 3/05 in more than a decade.
That well now needs a sidetrack after operational problems restricted access to the original wellbore, pushing back the production timeline management had earlier pointed to for the third quarter.
Reservoir pressure and productivity data from the successful Impala-1 intervention, which brought the previously shut-in well back onto production, have fed into the final Impala-2 well design, and Afentra said it anticipates a material incremental resource upgrade for the Impala field once Impala-2 is complete.
Joint venture partners have also agreed to fund Impala-2 directly rather than through the previously agreed carry mechanism, letting Afentra participate in production revenues from first oil and capture the full capital expenditure uplift available under the Block 3/05 production sharing contract.
The partners retained a well cost cap, now reduced to $60m gross, which continues to protect Afentra against cost overruns.
"Pacassa SW remains a high-priority discovered resource and has already delivered an excellent subsurface result confirming the material potential we see in this area," said chief executive Paul McDade, adding that the revised sequencing preserves "a clear, efficient pathway to bringing both wells into production in Q1 2027."
Remapping of the Pacassa SW discovery incorporating the well results is under way and is expected to confirm incremental resources of up to roughly 70m barrels, in line with pre-drill estimates; Afentra said updated oil-in-place and resource ranges will follow once that work is complete.
The company flagged a trading update for November, continued progress on the Etu transaction, and the start of a Block 3/05 hydraulic workover programme planned for early 2027 as further near-term catalysts.