VAALCO Energy, Inc. announced that the secondary electric submersible pump (ESP) in the Avouma 2-H well on the Avouma Platform offshore Gabon in the Etame Marin Permit was recently started and the well is now producing at a stable rate.

As previously announced, the primary ESP failed in the Avouma 2-H well, and prior to attempting to start the secondary ESP, VAALCO and the manufacturer and installer of the ESP worked closely to optimize the startup procedure. The lower pump was successfully started last week and performance is stable with the well producing approximately 1,850 barrels of oil per day (BOPD) gross or 450 BOPD net to VAALCO. The well was producing approximately 2,700 gross BOPD or 660 BOPD net to VAALCO prior to the first ESP failure. VAALCO is currently flowing the well at a lower rate while monitoring the performance of the ESP.

Cary Bounds, VAALCO’s Chief Operating Officer commented, “We are pleased to have restarted production from the Avouma 2-H well and will continue to monitor the performance of the secondary ESP. We are conducting a detailed investigation of ESP failures encountered earlier this year on the platform and hope to restore production from two shut-in wells in the fourth quarter. The upcoming Avouma ESP replacements will utilize a more cost effective hydraulic workover unit that is being mobilized to the platform. The ability to restart production from the Avouma 2-H validates our strategy of installing primary and secondary pumps in all of our platform wells.”

About VAALCO

VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE: EGY) is a Houston-based independent energy company principally engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development and production of crude oil. The Company's properties and exploration acreage are located primarily in Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Angola in West Africa.