The Ashvaz project is a large structural trap where the tertiary reservoirs are draped around a large surface anticline, which has an eroded core. Three previous wells drilled into the structure have returned oil from Beds V and VII, with one hole drilled into the north west limb producing 116 barrels of oil per day when tested.

The core hole will deliver rock property and oil saturation data, which will allow the engineering planning of a proposed horizontal production well.

Afminex said the Bed III reservoir rock recovered from the 245m Charvak core hole drilled into the north eastern flank of the Changyrtash oilfield was water saturated and thus outside the field area. This core hole was designed to test the limit of the Changyrtash field, in an area separated from Changyrtash by a structural fault. Changyrtash, which is excised from the Charvak licence area, has produced over 13 million barrels of oil.

To the northeast of the recent core hole, where the Charvak II prospect has been developed from structural mapping using field geology and existing well data, a structural nose similar to the trap at the Changyrtash oilfield appears to be developed. This mapping will need to be confirmed by the acquisition of seismic data followed by appraisal drilling of the feature.

The prospect is expected to share characteristics of the Changyrtash field in that the oil gravity will be approximately 30-35 API and the reservoirs will be less than 700m below surface and exhibit moderate permeability.

Afminex currently has 50% of the project with the option of earning up to 75%.