31st Jan 2005 07:37
Petroceltic International PLC31 January 2005 (1) PETROCELTIC ACQUIRES INTEREST IN ATLANTIC MARGIN GAS PLAY OFFSHORE IRELAND (2) OPERATIONS UPDATE Petroceltic International plc ("Petroceltic") is pleased to announce that itswholly owned subsidiary Lerida Trading Ltd has executed an agreement to acquirea 16.25% interest in Frontier Exploration Licence 1/05 over the Blocks 13/7 andpart-Blocks 13/11 (NE) and 13/12 (N) ("the Blocks") located on the AtlanticMargin approximately 60 kms in board from the recent Dooish discovery offshoreNorth West Ireland. The Blocks are situated over a petroleum system that is predicted to be similarto the successful Corrib and Morecambe Bay Gas Field areas. The primaryreservoir target is the Triassic Sherwood Sandstone, which is anticipated to bepresent in a number of anticlinal structures within the Licence area. Thelargest of these, named Inishbeg is a robust, dip closed, ready to drillanticline that has the potential for commercially exploitable gas reserves ofsimilar volumes to those now being developed in the Corrib gas field offshore NWIreland. However, one of the added attractions associated with exploration, appraisal anddevelopment of any gas field in the Blocks is the comparative modest waterdepths of 320 feet, the anticipated shallow reservoir target depth of less than5,000 feet and the proximity to potential gas markets such as that created bythe recently constructed Coolkeragh 400 MW gas fired power station near Derry.The operator of the Licence, Lundin Exploration B.V. is planning the first wellduring 2005. Other partners include Island Oil and Gas plc and Ramco Energy plc. Under the terms of the agreement Petroceltic will bear 25% of the costs ofdrilling and, if successful, testing an exploration well to evaluate theTriassic hydrocarbon potential of the Inishbeg structure, the first well to bedrilled in the Licence, and thereafter will fund 16.25% of future expenditure.Petroceltic does not have to fund any past costs associated with acquiringseismic and other geological and geophysical data over the Blocks. The agreementis subject to the approval of the Irish Government. OPERATIONS Tunisia Ksar Hadada Production Sharing Contract Petroceltic, through its subsidiary Petroceltic Ksar Hadada ltd is continuing toevaluate data obtained from the Sidi Toui 3 well, which was drilled and testedduring November and December 2005. Sidi Toui 3 was drilled to a total depth of 1,300 meters and suspended forpossible further re-entry and testing. The target reservoir "Hamra Quartzite"was encountered at 1,023 meters and oil shows were recorded in the drillcuttings throughout this interval to total depth. The well was then logged andprepared for testing. Under the terms of a drilling contract with "ETAP" theTunisian state oil company and "OMV" the Austrian oil company and in order tosecure the rig for Sidi Toui 3 Petroceltic was permitted to undertake only oneshort duration test prior to releasing the rig from the well site. The objective of the on-going evaluation is to determine the reservoirparameters and nature of the formation fluid within the Hamra Quartzite, wereany reservoir fractures encountered and determine if further testing can bejustified. So far, evaluation of the data indicates that the well bore did intersect somesmall, low permeability fractures which when tested produced small amounts ofdrilling fluids only. Evaluation of the pressure data from the test is stillongoing but is unlikely to yield definitive information regarding the nature ofthe reservoir fluids. Acquisition of seismic in the southern part of the contract area is to commencein February over the Oryx prospect area approximately 25 kilometres south of theSidi Toui structure. This data is expected to be processed ready forinterpretation and integration into the well data in Q2 2005 after whichdecisions on the location and timing of future drilling and testing will bemade. Algeria and Italy Petroceltic, is finalizing plans for seismic and drilling campaigns for itsAlgerian and Italian interests and further announcements will be made in duecourse. John Craven, CEO of Petroceltic commented, "We are delighted to participate inthe Inishbeg prospect as it fits well on to our Kinsale gas assets. Inishbeg isgeologically similar to the successful Corrib project, which is now undergoingdevelopment. Ireland has excellent exploration and production terms and agrowing market for natural gas. Elsewhere we continue to believe that especially given the oil shows andfractures encountered in the Hamra Quartzite in Sidi Toui 3, there is remainingpotential in our Tunisian acreage. The new seismic will be important todetermine where to go next. In the meantime we are also moving forward excitingexploration programmes in Algeria and Italy." Contacts John Craven CEO Petroceltic International plc Tel + 353 1 495 9285email [email protected] Petroceltic International plc is listed on the Alternative Investment Market ofthe London Stock Exchange and has oil and gas interests in Algeria, Ireland,Italy, and Tunisia. Further information can be found on www.petroceltic.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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