oilbarrel article

http://oilbarrel.com/news/neon-energy-hit-by-water-disposal-issues-at-north-san-ardo-but-investors-look-ahead-to-vietnam-wildcats

Neon Energy Hit By Water Disposal Issues At North San Ardo But Investors Look Ahead To Vietnam Wildcats
According to the stock chart, it has been a difficult six months for ASX-quoted Neon Energy, which has heavy oil operations in California and exploration acreage offshore Vietnam. After mounting excitement about the prospectivity of its Vietnamese acreage, which culminated in last year's farm-out to Italian energy giant ENI, the stock has drifted down as its Californian assets ran into difficulties, with a challenging testing programme at the Paloma Deep discovery and water handling issues at the North San Ardo heavy oilfield. This knocked output numbers for the final six months of 2012, down 52 per cent at 236 barrels per day, while revenues of A$3.9 million were down 55 per cent, below analysts' expectations. Profits were also hit by a near doubling of field operating expenses.
The problems at North San Ardo relate to a water handling bottleneck caused by mechanical problems in one of two water disposal wells. This is now, after some frustrating permitting delays, now being remedied by the drilling of a replacement well. The Perth-based company hopes that this will help increase field output to at least 250 bpd, closer to the 300 bpd level at which its Californian operations cover the group operating overhead. Despite this production blip, North San Ardo remains a...