10 Mar 2009 07:00
10th March 2009
Amerisur Resources Plc ("the Company")
Paraguay - Operational Update
Amerisur Resources Plc, the oil and gas explorer and developer focused on South America, is pleased to give the following update on technical work performed in its Paraguayan properties and the reserves potential thereof.
In Paraguay Amerisur holds a substantial acreage position in two proven petroleum basins, one of which is among the most prolific in the continent. Amerisur has rights to a 100% interest in two concessions representing 1.6 million hectares (3.953 million acres) in Paraguay within the Chaco and Parana Basins, which are established hydrocarbon areas where oil and gas has been produced in Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil since the 1920s. This acreage is equivalent to approximately 70 standard North Sea blocks.
In order to advance the understanding of the prospectivity of the Paraguayan assets, we have undertaken a comprehensive geological and geophysical reinterpretation and we are very excited by the quality of the new leads identified. As such we have contracted an extensive surface geological and geochemical survey to further enhance that prospectivity and assist us in closing attractive farm out agreements.
We are also very encouraged with the renewed interest being shown by the international oil industry, including multinationals, in these exciting and under-explored oil basins.
The Company believes that the Republic of Paraguay represents an attractive opportunity for the following reasons:
The Permits
Amerisur holds two oil and gas permits in the Paraguayan part of the Chaco and Parana Basins. Amerisur has more than 4,663 km of 2D seismic including approximately 1,800 km of 1971 vintage Texaco data, 817 km of more recent Phillips Petroleum data and 2,046 km of data acquired by Shell between 1979 and 1981. Much of this data has been reprocessed and reinterpreted to identify prospective leads within the permits. It is believed that these properties hold significant untapped resources of oil and gas that may be brought to commercial production.
San Pedro Block - Parana Basin
Technical studies have now been completed on existing seismic and well data. 2 wells were drilled by Pecten (Shell) in 1982, Asuncion 1 and 2, recording strong staining with light oil in Silurian and Devonian sandstones. 803 km of 2D seismic data were also acquired by Pecten between 1979 and 1981. The analysis of these data, which cover approximately 40% of the block, have indicated the presence of 4 leads and a further 10 potential structures. According to analyses made from the electric logs run in Asuncion 1, the 4 leads identified have potential unrisked recoverable reserves of 708 MMBO. The leads were developed after study of the Barra Bonita field in the Parana basin of Brazil, and appear to observe the same play concept. Well data indicates the presence of high quality reservoir rocks, and although oil stains were recorded in those reservoir intervals in Asuncion 1 and 2, these wells are, according to the new mapping performed by the Company, located outside of structural closure. The depth of the target formations in this block is approximately 8,000ft. A 180 km surface geochemical sampling programme has been designed and will be performed during March 2009 over the 4 leads by a Colombian specialist consulting company. This work will allow further refinement of the lead configurations and assist in the design of a supplementary seismic acquisition programme.
Curupayty Block - Curupayty Basin
The Curupayty Sub-Basin may contain potential reserves of 6.5 TCFE or 1.1 billion BOE. Interpretation of existing seismic data in the Amerisur block, which data covers approximately 25% of the block area has indicated the presence of 3 structural leads. Three wells exist in the block, which showed significant hydrocarbon shows, even though they were located outside of the structural closures identified by Amerisur mapping. The unrisked potential recoverable reserves estimated within the 3 leads totals 248 MMBOE. 190 km of additional 2D seismic acquisition will be required to upgrade these leads to drillable prospects. The depth of the target formations in the block is approximately 4,500ft.
Across the Paraguayan border from Amerisur´s permit is the Bolivian part of the Chaco Basin, which holds the second largest proven natural gas reserves in South America. The Bolivian and Argentinean areas of the Chaco Basin have been heavily explored and are known to produce over 2 BCF per day of gas and over 50,000 BO per day. A survey by Energy Consulting International, Inc., a licensed petroleum engineering firm, indicates the potential of 43 TCFE of oil and gas reserves in the Paraguayan extension of the Chaco Basin, if the Paraguayan Sub-Basins achieve the average richness for all Chaco Basin fields.
The Company intends to farm out an interest in these blocks in return for the acquisition of additional 2D seismic data and the drilling of an exploration well in each block. Initial discussions are underway with 2 industry parties who have expressed interest in the projects.
The Company is operator of the blocks and holds a 100 per cent. working interest through its subsidiary, Amerisur SA (Paraguay).
Giles Clarke, Chairman commented:
"I am very pleased by the results of our technical analysis in Paraguay. Our Paraguay blocks are very large, and it is encouraging that we have identified significant prospectivity in the relatively small areas covered by existing data. This gives us considerable hope that we can convert these leads into commercial discoveries, and indicates that the eventual potential of our Paraguayan acreage may be very large.
"I congratulate our compact management and technical team on their hard work in developing these prospects, which has been achieved at a time of high workload in Colombia. Our operational focus continues to be on Colombia, where we have drilled exploration wells, made discoveries, have established production from those discoveries and also progressed the Fenix exploration project, where farm out discussions are ongoing. In addition we continue to seek further attractive opportunities in Colombia, where the global situation has created a number of interesting strategic options. I look forward to updating shareholders as progress continues."
Ends
Competent person: Technical information in this announcement has been reviewed by John Wardle Ph.D., the Company's Chief Executive. John Wardle has 24 years experience in the industry, having worked for BP, Britoil, Emerald Energy and Pebercan, and is a trained drilling engineer.
ENQUIRIES:
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