Cub Energy Inc. has commenced drilling of the Makeevskoye-16 (M-16) well in Ukraine.

Cub previously announced it was accelerating the company’s 2012 drilling program and had acquired, through contract, an additional rig from Burova Kompaniya Ukrburservice LLC to drill the M-16 well. The well is operated by KUB-Gas LLC, a subsidiary in which Cub has a 30% ownership interest.

The M-16 well, with a planned total depth of 3,850 m (12,631 ft), will evaluate stacked potential reservoir targets in Moscovian-, Bashkirian-, and Serpukhovian-aged rocks and is expected to take 90 days to reach total depth. The upper portion will be an appraisal well targeting a structure defined by 3D seismic with stacked reservoir units in the Bashkirian and Upper Serpukhovian that have tested natural gas elsewhere within the Makeevskoye field. The deeper portion will be an exploration well to evaluate the hydrocarbon potential of deeper formations in the Lower Serpukhovian and potentially in the Visian. This deep-test well will be the deepest well drilled to date by KUB-Gas and a discovery in these deeper sediments would open up new opportunities for reserve and production growth.

Mikhail Afendikov, chairman and CEO, said, “This latest well will not only target formations that currently produce on the M license, but M-16 will also target deeper formations that have only been sparsely tested to date. Given the success we have had on the M License, we are optimistic about this deep-test well's potential and excited by the possibility it creates for new opportunities in reserve and production growth.”