JKX Oil & Gas is restarting its in-field drilling and appraisal programme on the Novo-Nikolaevskoye Complex in the Ukraine, the company announced Tuesday.

The group's Skytop rig will be used on licences at the complex including the Molchanovskoye, Elizavetovskoye and the Zaplavskoye fields.

The rig will first be used at Molchanovskoye for a horizontal recompletion of the M-166 Devonian sandstone oil producing well before moving to the Elizavetovskoye licence to spud the first of a planned five-well development drilling programme.

JKX also plans to drill this year on the Zaplavskoye licence after processing and interpreting the 2012 additional 3D seismic data.

The rig is currently being used on a well for a Ukrainian operator which is expected to be completed this month.

"We are pleased to recommence the in-fill drilling programme on our core Ukrainian production licences, the production from which currently underpins our Group cash flow," said Chief Executive, Dr Paul Davies.

Shares rose 4.31% to 60.50p at 12:21 Tuesday on well above average trading volumes.

RD

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