1st Sep 2015 07:00
NORTHCOTE ENERGY LIMITED - Positive Test Results from LM#20 Well, Shoats CreekNORTHCOTE ENERGY LIMITED - Positive Test Results from LM#20 Well, Shoats Creek
PR Newswire
London, August 31
Northcote Energy Ltd / Index: AIM / Epic: NCT / ISIN: VGG6622A1057 / Sector: Oil & Gas
1 September 2015
Northcote Energy Ltd (‘Northcote’ or ‘the Company’)
Positive Test Results from LM#20 Well, Shoats Creek
Northcote is pleased to announce test results for the Lutcher Moore #20 well (LM #20) at Shoats Creek Field, Beauregard Parish, Louisiana in which it owns a 93% working interest, of 260 barrels of oil and 500 mcf of natural gas per day (or 340 barrels of oil equivalent per day on the basis of 6 mcf of natural gas per barrel of equivalent).
HIGHLIGHTS:
24 hour test result at LM#20 of 340 BOEPD (237.15 net to Northcote) Application filed for allowable daily production limit for the well of up to 250 BOPD gross Shoats Creek drilling inventory increased by up to three drill locations from its previously announced 8 well drilling inventory Management expects the well to pay out the $813,750 investment in approximately 10 to 12 months at a $40 oil priceNorthcote Managing Director Randall J. Connally said, "We have been very pleased with this well during every step of drilling, completion and testing. The well has substantially exceeded our pre-drill expectations in multiple areas including thickness of pay-zone, oil cut and daily rates achieved during testing. We used the very best geological and engineering consultants as well as latest thinking in the techniques and equipment available for development of this formation. We believe this outcome validates that Shoats Creek has substantial development potential and underscores the original rationale for our acquisition of this company making oil and gas asset both initially from Aminex and then the acquisition more recently of NAP USA, Inc.
“I would note that our peak test rate exceeded 360 barrels of oil and 800 mcf of natural gas per day or approximately 500 barrels of oil equivalent per day. We believe the final test represents a long-term optimal production rate to balance daily production with maximisation of long term recoverable reserves from the well bore. I expect that the well should pay out our investment in approximately 10 to 12 months at a $40 oil price based on sustainable production in the range of 200 to 250 barrels of oil and associated natural gas."
ABOUT THE LM#20
The LM #20 was originally drilled approximately 130' northwest of the Lutcher Moore #16 to 5500' to test the Frio member of the Oligocene formation. The well encountered approximately 10' to 12' of pay with an estimated 20%+ porosity. Total cost through testing is estimated at US$875,000 (US$813,750 net to Northcote).
On 24 August 2015 Northcote perforated five feet of the payzone from 5018' to 5023'. After allowing the well to clean-up, Northcote has run 7 tests under jet pump at various choke and pressure sizes with its final 18 hour test under a 32/64 inch choke at 2,500 pounds per square inch pressure and a three quarters of a barrel per minute injection rate resulting in 741 barrels of total fluid, 198 barrels of oil and approximately 100 mcf for every 50 barrels of oil produced. Based on a twenty four hour period the results equate to in excess of 260 barrels of oil and 500 mcf of natural gas per day (or 340 barrels of oil equivalent per day on the basis of 6 mcf of natural gas per barrel of equivalent). Northcote has filed for an allowable daily production limit for the well of up to 250 barrels of oil per day with the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources. The oil produced at the LM#20 will be immediately available for sale and the gas will become available for sale once Northcote has tied this well into the local gas network. In this regard Northcote is having discussions with potential natural gas purchasers and intends to add necessary infrastructure to sell natural gas to third-party purchasers as part of its overall field development plan.
Northcote believes that the positive well results add two to three drill locations to its previously announced 8 well drilling inventory and it intends to have an updated reserve report prepared for Shoats Creek and the Frio formation which it will announce to the market in due course.
* * ENDS * *
For further information visit www.northcoteenergy.com or contact the following:
Randy Connally | Northcote Energy Ltd | +1 214 550 5082 |
Ross Warner | Northcote Energy Ltd | +44 7760 487 769 |
Dan Jorgensen | Northcote Energy Ltd | +44 20 7236 1177 |
Roland Cornish | Beaumont Cornish Ltd | +44 20 7628 3396 |
James Biddle | Beaumont Cornish Ltd | +44 20 7628 3396 |
Elliot Hance | Beaufort Securities Ltd | +44 20 7382 8300 |
Nick Bealer | Cornhill Capital Limited | +44 20 7710 9612 |
Elisabeth Cowell | St Brides Partners Limited | +44 20 7236 1177 |
All of the technical information that is contained in this announcement has been reviewed internally by the Company's Technical Director, Mr. Kevin Green. Mr. Kevin Green is a Petroleum Geologist who is a suitably qualified person with over 30 years' experience in assessing hydrocarbon reserves and has reviewed the release and consents to the inclusion of the technical information.
Notes:
Northcote Energy Limited is an entrepreneurial energy company with diverse interests. The Company combines a portfolio of US exploration and production assets in Louisiana and Oklahoma with the development of new business opportunities in the US and also in Mexico, such as its participation agreement with MX Oil PLC and agreement with Gaia Ecologica as well as Indonesia via a strategic relationship with CEB Resources.
Glossary
BOE: barrels of oil equivalent, gas is converted at its energy equivalent of 6000 cubic feet per barrel of oil
BOEPD: barrels of oil equivalent per day
BOPD: barrels of oil per day, abbreviation for barrels of oil per day, a common unit of measurement for volume of crude oil. The volume of a barrel is equivalent to 42 US gallons
Choke: A wellhead choke controls the surface pressure and production rate from a well. Chokes usually are selected so that fluctuations in the line pressure downstream of the choke have no effect on the production rate.
Mcfd: Thousand Cubic Feet per Day
NRI: Net Revenue Interests
Oligocene: a geologic epoch that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present
Pay or Payzone: an interval within a rock formation that contains quantities of hydrocarbons thought to be economically viable. This interval is commonly determined using various logging tools run by the operator prior to making the decision to complete a well for production.
Porosity: a measure of how much of a rock is open space. This space can be between grains or within cracks or cavities of the rock.
Permeability: is a measure of the ease with which a fluid (water in this case) can move through a porous rock.
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