11th Sep 2008 07:00
11 September 2008
CIRCLE OIL PLC
("Circle" or the "Company")
Drilling commences on the Serdouk prospect in the Grombalia Permit, Tunisia
Circle Oil plc (AIM:COP), the international oil and gas exploration and development company, is pleased to announce that following receipt of the necessary new approvals and completion of on-site civil engineering works and rig maintenance, its partner, EXXOIL Tunisia, has commenced drilling on the Serdouk prospect in the Grombalia permit in northern Tunisia. Circle holds a 36% working interest in this permit.
The Serdouk prospect is a three-way dip closure with a large throw strike slip fault on its northern boundary. The reservoir objectives are the Lower Eocene Bou Dabbous fractured limestone, which is oil productive at the Belli, Beni Khalled and Al Manzah fields, and the secondary target is the Abbiod Limestone, which is a known gas and oil producing formation 8km to the south east of the Serdouk prospect.
The decision to drill Serdouk before the previously indicated Bayoub prospect (formerly named Mellah) was made by the partners following the incorporation of newly acquired historical 3D seismic data results into the geological interpretations for the Serdouk prospect.
For further information contact:
Circle Oil plc (+44 20 7638 9571)
David Hough, CEO
Collins Stewart Europe Limited (+44 20 7523 8350)
Adrian Hadden
James Cassley
Fox-Davies Capital (+44 207 936 5230)
Richard Hail
Citigate Dewe Rogerson (+44 20 7638 9571)
Martin Jackson
George Cazenove
Notes to Editors
Circle Oil Plc
Circle Oil Plc (AIM: COP) is an international oil & gas exploration and development Company with an expanding portfolio of assets in Morocco, Tunisia, Oman, Egypt and Namibia with a combination of low-risk near-term production and significant exploration upside potential. The Company listed on AIM in October 2004.
Internationally, the Company has continued to expand its portfolio over the past 2 years and now has assets in the Rharb Basin, Morocco; the Ras Mamour Permit in southern Tunisia; the Mahdia Permit offshore Tunisia; the Grombalia Permit in northern Tunisia; the Zeit Bay area of Egypt and the Owambo Basin, Namibia. Circle also has the largest licence holding of any Company in Oman. In addition to its highly prospective Block 52 offshore, the Company also has an ongoing exploration program in Block 49 onshore.
The Company's strategy is to locate and secure additional licenses in prospective hydrocarbon provinces and through targeted investment programmes, monetise the value in those assets for the benefit of shareholders. This could be achieved through farm-outs to selected partners who would then invest in and continue the development of the asset into production, or Circle may itself opt to use its own expertise to appraise reserves and bring assets into production, generating sustained cash flow for further investment.
Further information on Circle Oil is available on its website - www.circleoil.net
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