22nd Apr 2008 14:27
Dragon Oil PLC22 April 2008 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE22 April 2008 DRAGON OIL plc ("Dragon Oil" or the "Company") Yemen Exploration Drilling Update Dragon Oil (DGO) today issued the following drilling update in respect of itsinterests in Blocks 35 (10%), 49 (up to 10%) and R2 (10%) in the Republic ofYemen. Block 49 Exploration well West Ghobata-1 spudded on 24 October 2007 and reached a totaldepth of 2,301 metres in Basement rocks. Oil shows were encountered in QishnClastics, Sabatayn Dolomite, and Madbi Dolomite. The total tested light oil ratewas approximately 40 barrels of oil per day. West Ghobata-1 is still underevaluation. Exploration well Dhulai'h-1 on prospect Balharak North spudded on 17 December2007 and reached a total depth of 1,570 metres in Basement rocks. Oil and gasshows were encountered in Qishn sandstones, however, testing operations did notproduce any hydrocarbons. The well was plugged and abandoned. Block R2 Exploration well Daw'an South-1 spudded on 30 November 2007 and reached a totaldepth of 1,557 metres in Basement rocks. Daw'an South-1 had only very slight oilshows and was declared dry. The well has been plugged and abandoned. Exploration well Tasilah West-1 spudded on 30 December 2007 and reached a totaldepth of 1,399 metres in Basement rocks. Oil shows were present in weatheredzone of basement and in fractured basement, however, the test on basementrevealed only water. The well has been plugged and abandoned, and the rig hasbeen released. Block 35 Exploration drilling on the Qabr Hood and SW Hood prospects is expected tocommence later this year. The exploration period for Block 35 can be extendeduntil February 2010. Hussain M. Sultan, Chairman and CEO of Dragon Oil, commented: "While we are naturally disappointed with the overall results from theexploration drilling programme in our non-operated acreage in Yemen, we do takesome encouragement from the West Ghobata-1 outcome and from the timely andefficient execution of the programme, which was completed within budget. We areawaiting final government and partner approvals on our participation in theseBlocks as per the PSA. The management team will continue to seek and assessprospective acquisitions both within Yemen and internationally to diversifyDragon Oil's portfolio further." Background Note Dragon Oil Plc is an innovative international oil and gas development andproduction company, quoted on the London and Irish Stock exchanges (Tickersymbol: DGO). Its principal producing asset is in the Cheleken Contract Area, inthe eastern section of the Caspian Sea, offshore Turkmenistan. Dragon Oilrecently acquired interests in Blocks 35 (10%), 49 (up to 10%) and R2 (10%) inthe Republic of Yemen. Dragon Oil (Turkmenistan) Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Dragon Oil plc,holds 100% interest in and is the operator of the Production Sharing Agreementfor the Cheleken Contract Area in the Caspian Sea, offshore Turkmenistan.Operational focus is on the re-development of two oil producing fields,Dzheitune (Lam) and Dzhygalybeg (Zhdanov). www.dragonoil.com For further information please contact: Media enquiriesCitigate Dewe Rogerson (+44 20 7638 9571)Martin JacksonGeorge Cazenove Investor and Analyst enquiriesDragon Oil Plc (+971 4 305 3600)Leanne Denman, Investor Relations Officer This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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