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Drilling Update

10th Mar 2011 07:00

RNS Number : 6560C
President Petroleum Company PLC
10 March 2011
 



10 March 2011

PRESIDENT PETROLEUM COMPANY PLC

("President" or "the Company")

 

Drilling Update

 

·; Kafoury 3 well tested - to be plugged and abandoned

·; Northumberland 2 well spudded - targeting 40 million bbls oil or 55 bcf gas

·; LA Furs 22 sidetrack underway

 

Kafoury 3, East Lake Verret Field ("ELV"), Louisiana, USA

 

The Kafoury 3 well has been sidetracked to a measured depth of just under 14,000 feet, where geological analysis confirmed that all targets had been drilled. As previously reported, drilling of Kafoury 3 has been extremely challenging and the well continued to encounter high pressures, which significantly increased the duration and doubled the cost of drilling, and frequent high levels of background gas, which encouraged President to continue with the well. A 200 feet section of the well was perforated and tested over the past 48 hours to determine whether there was any potential for commercial gas flow. Whilst gas flows were measured, the test was inconclusive and after further consideration President has decided to plug and abandon the well.

Northumberland 2, PEL 82, South Australia

Drilling of the Northumberland 2 well is underway, on schedule and on budget. Progress through the initial limestone layer was good and casing is currently being set at 350 metres prior to drilling ahead. The target measured depth for the well is 3,200 metres. The reservoir targets for Northumberland 2 are independently estimated to contain total prospective resources of 40 million barrels of oil or 55 billion cubic feet of gas, which represents a very high impact opportunity. President owns the license to 100% of PEL 82, which has total prospective resources assessed as over 400 million barrels.

LA Furs 22 Sidetrack, East White Lake Field ("EWL"), Louisiana, USA

Peak Energy has drilled the LA Furs 22 sidetrack to a depth of 6,683 feet, just short of target. At that point repairs to the casing were required and the rig has been temporarily taken off location whilst these are completed. The rig is expected to return later this month to complete the well. Further evaluation of this prospect has confirmed a larger than expected oil target of nearly 200,000 barrels (President net revenue interest 21.1%) and if successful, the well will be immediately brought into production.

 

Commenting on today's announcement, Stephen Gutteridge, Chairman said:

"We took the Kafoury 3 well as far as we deemed commercially viable and whilst the decision to plug and abandon the well is clearly disappointing, we have now spudded the exciting high impact Northumberland 2 well in South Australia and have made further progress towards increasing production with the LA Furs 22 Sidetrack in Louisiana. We look forward to updating the market on these results in due course."

 

For further information contact:

 

President Petroleum Company

Stephen Gutteridge, Chairman

+44 (0) 207 811 0140

John Hamilton, Non-executive Director

+44 (0) 207 036 9369

Evolution Securities

+44 (0) 207 071 4300

Robert Collins, Tim Redfern, Adam James

 

RBS Hoare Govett

+44 (0) 207 678 8000

Stephen Bowler, John MacGowan, Max Jones

 

Pelham Bell Pottinger

+44 (0) 207 861 3232

James Henderson/Mark Antelme/Jenny Renton

 

 

President Petroleum (AIM: PPC), is an oil and gas exploration and production company with onshore producing and exploration assets in Louisiana, USA and onshore exploration licences in South Australia.

 

Ed Childers, the Company's Chief Operating Officer, and Dr Michael Cochran, the Company's Exploration Director, who meet the criteria of qualified persons under the AIM guidance note for mining and oil and gas companies, have reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this announcement.

 

This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
 
END
 
 
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