LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - PetroTal Corp warned on Monday that production had been temporarily hit by fresh technical issues at its flagship asset.
The AIM-listed oil and gas developer said four wells at the Bretana field in Peru had been shut-in after leaks in production tubing were discovered, temporarily impacting output.

A service rig is now being moved to Bretana to fix the leaks.

However it is not due to arrive until the end of October, with the wells not expected to return to production until mid-November.

PetroTal acknowledged: "While recent Bretana production remains substantially higher than last September's average of 10,333 bopd, technical issues have contributed to a decline in field production since mid-August."

However, the firm - which is domiciled in Canada - said the impact of the shut-ins on average annual production was expected to be below 1,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd).

As a result, it has left its average daily production guidance for the full year unchanged, at between 20,000 and 21,000 bopd.

Manuel Pablo Zuniga-Pflucker, chief executive, said: "Our assets are located in a remote environment, and unfortunately it takes time to mobilise equipment to the field.

"As ever, we constantly evaluate our operational planning and procedures, and will continue to assess possible long-term solutions for well services that would allow us to respond to production interruptions in a more expedient manner."

Earlier this year, Bretana experienced pump failures in four producing wells in Bretana. The failures occurred between December and February, but were not replaced until mid-July.

Bretana discovered the leaks in production tubing while investigating the pump failures.

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