31st Oct 2007 07:02
Soco International PLC31 October 2007 SOCO International plc ("SOCO" or "the Company") Vietnam Drilling Update VN-1X Well The Company's majority owned subsidiary, SOCO Vietnam Ltd., announces that theVoi Nau (VN-1X) well, the first well on Prospect "AA" in Block 16-1, will beplugged and abandoned after reaching a total depth of 3,130 metres. The wellwas drilled on a four way closure to evaluate the Oligocene section that wasproductive in Voi Trang. While the well encountered oil shows, the sands werepoorly developed and had insufficient porosity to warrant testing. TGD-1X Well Testing Following this well, the rig will return to the Te Giac Den 1X ("TGD-1X") wellon Prospect "E". As announced on 30 July 2007, the TGD-1X well encounteredhydrocarbons in two Oligocene clastic sequences, which were separated by avolcanic layer. Well logs over the upper sequence indicated approximately 30metres of net pay. After drilling through the volcanics, the well alsoencountered a deeper high pressure clastic sequence with oil and gas shows. Afurther 300 metres of sediment is interpreted above the Basement. Although equipment is now assembled that would enable the section above thevolcanics to be tested, detailed analysis of the well, including the benefit ofdrilling with the high pressure blow out preventer, testing multiple highpressure zones and the extent of the potential formation damage, has supported adecision to re-drill the entire section and conduct a single testing programme. Ed Story, President and Chief Executive of SOCO, commented: "We are particularly excited to return to the TGD structure. Success in thedeeper objective section of this structure could totally transform this companyand represent a significant milestone in the history of oil exploration inVietnam. Accordingly, we are quite anxious to resume our evaluation now that wehave assembled the proper high pressure drilling equipment. 31 October 2007 ENQUIRIES: SOCO International plcRoger Cagle Deputy Chief Executive and Tel: 020 7747 2000 Chief Financial Officer Pelham Public RelationsJames Henderson Tel: 020 7743 6673Alisdair Haythornthwaite Tel: 020 7743 6676 NOTES TO EDITORS: SOCO is an international oil and gas exploration and production company,headquartered in London, traded on the London Stock Exchange and a constituentof 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. 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:
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