AKIPRESS.COM - Petro Matad Ltd., an oil exploration company, provided Thursday an update on operations and planned activities in Blocks IV and V in central Mongolia, Rigzone reports.

The combined airborne full tensor gradiometry (FTG) data acquisition and processing services and high resolution aeromagnetics (HRAM) survey, contracted to Bell Geospace, have been successfully completed within budget and ahead of plan. The firm acquired 22,000 line kilometers of data over an area of 11,000 square kilometers. The data quality, vetted by independent analysts, is excellent and allows Petro Matad to optimize the ongoing seismic acquisition program and enhance its ability to high grade basins and de-risk prospects for drilling. The company will now process the data and to integrate it with existing and new seismic data.

Meanwhile, a 2D seismic acquisition survey – to acquire approximately 2,000 line kilometers of new data to be integrated with existing data and the newly acquired FTG data – is underway and the data quality to-date has been described as "very good". The seismic acquisition campaign is expected to end in the first quarter of 2016 with contingency to acquire additional infill lines.

In other developments, Petro Matad says it is committed to an exploration drilling program in 2016. Prospect generation arising from interpretation of the new data and existing data is likely to be completed by the end of March 2016. It revealed that preparation of the invitation to tender documents for a drilling rig is at an advanced stage and pre-qualification documents will be issued to potential bidders shortly.

By year-end, the company expects to release the full tender package for an exploration rig capable of drilling to approximately 3,500 meters. Contract award for a rig is targeted for early second quarter of 2016 with drilling expected to commence in August 2016.

“I am very pleased with the operational progress being achieved and the data quality observed to date in the Company’s FTG and seismic acquisition programs. I am very confident that once the Petro Matad team has integrated the new data with the existing database a number of exciting drillable prospects will emerge, with exploration drilling on the best commencing during the third quarter of 2016," Enkhmaa Davaanyam, Petro Matad chairperson, said.