Good news for shareholders in SOCO International (SOCO) as the frontier oil & gas explorer announced that approval had been attained for its 40p-a-share return to shareholders, while test drilling at the Te Giac Trang field's 10X appaisal well has "exceeded all pre-test expectations".
The first test returned a maximum flow rate of 9,488 barrels of oil per day (bopd), together with one million cubic feet of gas (cfgd), while the second test produced a maximum rate of 7,100 bopd and two million cfgd. An API gravity of 41 degrees places the 10X output within the category of 'light crude'. A third test is currently under way, with results expected in the early part of next month. But the good news emanating from Vietnam was tempered slightly by poor drilling data from SOCO's Lideka Marine East 1 prospect in Congo Brazzaville.
