28th Jun 2005 07:01
Soco International PLC28 June 2005 SOCO International plc ("SOCO" or "the Company") Successful Testing of Well KHA - 405, Yemen SOCO is an international oil and gas exploration and production company,headquartered in London traded on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent ofthe FTSE 250 Index. The Company has continuing interests in Vietnam, Yemen,Mongolia, Libya and Thailand with ongoing production operations in Yemen andMongolia. SOCO's transaction to dispose of its Mongolian operations is pendingcompletion after gaining approval from its shareholders at an EGM on 10 May2005. The Company's majority owned subsidiary, Comeco Petroleum, Inc. ("Comeco"),through which the Company holds a 16.785% net working interest in the EastShabwa Development Area in Yemen ("ESDA"), announces the successful productiontest of the KHA-405. The well was drilled as part of the continuing appraisaland development of the Basement reservoir in the Kharir Field. The KHA-405 spudded on 28th March 2005 and reached a total depth of 3,755metres. The objectives of the well were to delineate the Basement and evaluatereservoir development in the eastern extension of the structure as currentlymapped. KHA-405 produced over 7,300 barrels of oil per day ("BOPD") when testedagainst a 58/64 inch choke. Production was limited by capacity limitations ofthe Kharir's main production facilities. This marks the fourth consecutivesuccess of the five wells drilled thus far in the programme initiated in August2004 to evaluate the Basement reservoir in the Kharir Field. The sixth Basement well in the current ESDA drilling programme, the KHA-406,spudded on 11th June 2005 and is designed to be a water injection well. Drilling of the KHA-405 is part of the consortium's three part programme for theyear to appraise the Kharir Basement structure, increase reserves throughexploration and increase production from the 29,000 BOPD level at the end of2004. Ed Story commented: "The Basement potential in the Kharir Field in the East Shabwa Development Areain Yemen continues to grow. With this demonstrated success, the consortium nowexpects to test the exploration potential elsewhere on the Block and to increaseits production and export capabilities" 28 JUNE 2005 ENQUIRIES: SOCO International plc Tel: 020 7747 2000Roger Cagle, Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer Pelham Public RelationsJames Henderson Tel: 020 7743 6673Charles Vivian Tel: 020 7743 6672 Notes to Editors Comeco, in which SOCO holds a 58.75% interest, has a 28.57% interest in the ESDAin Block 10 in Yemen. The East Shabwa joint venture is operated by TOTAL E & PYemen (28.57% interest) under a production sharing agreement with the governmentof Yemen. The other joint venture partners are Occidental Yemen Ltd. (28.57%interest) and Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co. (14.29% interest). This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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