6th Nov 2007 07:01
Matra Petroleum PLC06 November 2007 PRESS RELEASE For immediate release: 6th November 2007 Matra Petroleum plc ("Matra" or the "Company") Matra makes it three discoveries in a row Matra is pleased to announce it has made an oil discovery at Arkhangelovskoe-12,the Company's first exploration well in Russia, adding to the Company's twodiscoveries in Hungary, announced earlier this year. The well reached a totaldepth of 3890m and has now been logged. The discovery well in Russia, in which Matra has a 100% interest, was drilled totest the Sokolovskaya structure and flowed light (37 deg API) oil at a rate of960 bopd during an open hole test of the Upper Devonian Aphonenski (PrimaryTarget) formation over the interval 3699-3713m. Initial test interpretationindicates a high level of formation damage caused during drilling and the wellmay be capable of a significantly higher flow rate if the damage is removedusing a suitable acid treatment. Wireline logging of the well indicates a net pay of 4 - 7m within the testedinterval and a possible further 5m oil zone in the Franski formation 3590-3595m(untested). The well will now be cased and completed for production. Completion equipment iscurrently being sourced locally to allow the completion using the currentdrilling rig. In the event that all required equipment cannot be sourcedimmediately then the well will be completed using a workover rig within the nextfew weeks. The Arkhangelovskoe license is near to the city of Orenburg with ready access tooil transportation infrastructure and it is expected that the well can be put onproduction within a month of being completed utilising a temporary leasedproduction facility and trucking the oil to a nearby rail terminal. Matra has a four well drilling commitment on the license and the drilling rigwill be moved to the second exploration well location Arkhangelovskoe-11 to testthe Laptevskaya structure. The well will be drilled to a total depth of 3,850mand will take approximately 120 days. The Aphonenski in Arkhangelovskoe-12 formation was encountered deeper thanprognosed and the data obtained during drilling will be incorporated into themapping prior to drilling the next well on the discovery. The remapping shouldbe completed within a month and may be used as the basis of a revised resourceestimate. This well will therefore most likely commence drilling early in 2008. Peter Hind, Matra's Managing Director said: "This is a great result for our first well in Russia and on this license andcontinues on from our recent success in Hungary. The test rate is well above theeconomic threshold for this area and we hope that we may be able to improve itafter completion. There is less pay at this location and it's a little deeper than we predictedbefore drilling and therefore reserves are likely to be less than the pre-drillmost likely case of 32 million barrels. However, the 5m zone indicated by logsin the Franski provides additional potential. The Arkhangelovskoe license area is highly prospective and we hope to addfurther discoveries during 2008. Being able to establish long term test production for up to nine months whilstwe apply to convert the discovery area into a long term production license isalso of great help both technically and financially." For the purposes of AIM Rule 11, this announcement has been reviewed by MatraPetroleum's Managing Director, Peter Hind BSc, a Petroleum Engineer of more than30 years standing and a member of the SPE. For further Information, please contact: Matra Petroleum www.matrapetroleum.comPeter Hind, Managing Director +44 (0) 7990 807855Neil Hodgson, Exploration Director +44 (0) 7973 342822 Aquila Financial Limited www.aquila-finacial.comPeter Reilly +44 (0) 207 7202 2601Yvonne Fraser +44 (0) 207 7202 2609 Matra's nominated Advisor is RFC Corporate Finance Ltd -Contact: Steve Allen +61894802500 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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