28th Feb 2006 07:02
Soco International PLC28 February 2006 SOCO International plc ("SOCO" or "the Company") OPERATIONS UPDATE ON ACTIVITIES IN 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,Thailand and the Republic of Congo with ongoing production operations in Yemen. 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 completion of a numberof wells on the Kharir and Atuf Fields that will add to current productioncapability, as well as exploration activities in the northern part of the Block. A temporary 10,000 barrels of oil per day self contained production facility isbeing added to the current production facility to increase the field's overallproduction capacity as other work on debottlenecking and expanding permanentcapacity continues. It is anticipated that the temporary capacity upgrade willbe available at the beginning of March. APPRAISAL DRILLING Atuf Field The three well production enhancement drilling programme on the Atuf Field hasconcluded. All three wells have been completed as producers and are beingconnected to the main producing facilities. Kharir Field On the Kharir Field, the KHA-1-07.G1 sidetrack well, a sidetrack of the KHA-401well, encountered good shows. It has been decided to complete the well as aproducer. Two rigs are currently drilling injection and production wells on the Kharirfield. This activity is expected to continue throughout 2006. EXPLORATORY DRILLING Jathma Area The second exploration well in the Jathma area, the JAT-02 well, spudded on 8thDecember 2005, reached bottom hole on 12th January 2006. Although the wellencountered a significant oil column, the well did not produce on productiontest indicating poor fracture development at this location. An evaluation of theresults of the well is being conducted to provide input to a potential 3Dseismic programme in the area. The third exploration well, JAT-03, spudded on 13th January 2006 on the westernside of the block. The well is taking longer than expected due to upper holemechanical difficulties. The well is currently drilling at 3,080 metres. As previously announced, the first exploration well in the Jathma area, theJAT-01, was drilled to 3,175 metres measured depth. It tested over 1,900 barrelsof oil per day against a 56/64 inch choke with an API gravity of 35 degrees 28 February 2006 ENQUIRIES: SOCO International plc Roger Cagle, Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer Tel: 020 7747 2000 Pelham Public Relations James Henderson Alisdair Haythornthwaite Tel: 020 7743 6676 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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