25th Sep 2007 07:03
Soco International PLC25 September 2007 SOCO International plc ("SOCO" or "the Company") Vietnam Drilling Update SOCO is an international oil and gas exploration and production company,headquartered in London, traded on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. The Company has interests in Vietnam, Yemen, Thailand, the Republic of Congo(Brazzaville), the Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa) and Angola with production operations in Yemen. TGL-1X Well The Company's majority owned subsidiary, SOCO Vietnam Ltd., announces that theTe Giac Lam 1X ("TGL-1X") exploration well, the first well on Prospect "O" inBlock 16-1, will be plugged and abandoned after reaching a total depth of 3,697metres. The well was drilled to test a Miocene four-way closure on one of theBasement ridges that appear on seismic to be analogous to the geological settingof the Te Ge Trang ("TGT") field discovery to the East, and deepened tointersect the Oligocene sands. Even though the well was drilled overpressured, mud log data indicated 70 metresof sand with good oil shows in the Oligocene section. A test was conducted overthis interval however, the sands at this location were found to be tight andfurther testing was discontinued. The data gathered during the testing processwill be further analysed to determine future drilling activities on Prospect "O"in Block 16-1. Upcoming Drilling Activity - TGD-1X Well Testing and VN-1X Exploration Well The rig will immediately move to the "AA" prospect to drill the Voi Nau 1Xexploration well ("VN-1X"), which is estimated to take approximately 20 daysprior to testing, if required. The "AA" prospect is located on a shallow waterplay fairway, on trend with an oilfield discovered in 2002 by the NO-1X well. Following this well, the rig will be fitted with high pressure equipment,including a 15,000 psi blow out preventer, which will enable it to test the TeGiac Den 1X ("TGD-1X") well on Prospect "E", which covers an areal extent of 30kilometres. As announced on 30 July 2007, the TGD-1X well encountered hydrocarbons in twoOligocene clastic sequences, which were separated by a volcanic layer. Well logsover the upper sequence, the object of the impending test, indicatedapproximately 30 metres of net pay. After drilling through the volcanics, thewell also encountered a subsequent high pressure clastic sequence with oil andgas shows, which is anticipated to continue through a further 300 metres ofsediment. This interval will not be re-entered on this test, but will beredrilled later in the drilling programme. Ed Story, President and Chief Executive of SOCO, commented: "Reservoir quality in the Oligocene section has proven to be challenging in theCuu Long Basin, but has offered good successes in both the TGT field and theoverpressured TGD-1X well. Given our experience in the TGD-1X well to date, weexpect more consistent success in the overpressured, massive structuresrepresented by the "E" and "E" South prospects and look forward to testing theupper sequence of the TGD-!x well in the near future." 25 September 2007 ENQUIRIES: SOCO International plcRoger Cagle Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Tel: 020 7747 2000 Financial Officer Pelham Public RelationsJames Henderson Tel: 020 7743 6673Alisdair Haythornthwaite Tel: 020 7743 6676 Notes to editors: SOCO holds its interests in Vietnam, all in the Cuu Long Basin offshore, throughits 80% owned subsidiary SOCO Vietnam Limited ("SOCO Vietnam") and through its100% ownership of OPECO, Inc. SOCO Vietnam holds a 25% working interest in Block9-2, which is operated by the Hoan Vu Joint Operating Company ("HVJOC") andholds a 28.5% working interest in Block 16-1, which is operated by the HoangLong Joint Operating Company ("HLJOC"). OPECO, Inc. holds a 2% interest in Block16-1. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Pharos Energy