CERP.L Regulatory News (CERP)

Embargoed for release at 7.00am

12 September 2017

Columbus Energy Resources Plc

("CERP" or "Columbus" or the "Company")

CEC issued for Goudron Water Injection Pilot "A" Programme in Trinidad

Columbus, the oil and gas producer and explorer focused on onshore Trinidad with the ambition to grow in South America, is pleased to confirm that the Certificate of Environmental Clearance("CEC") for Water Injection Pilot "A" Programme in the Goudron Field has been issued by the Environmental Management Authority ("EMA") of Trinidad.

The CEC application was submitted on 28 June 2017 with additional data sent on 11 August, following requests for clarifications from the EMA on Goudron Field facilities details. The issue of the CEC will allow the Company to complete work on installing the Goudron Field Water Injection Pilot "A" Facilities for the Gros Morne 665 area. The pilot objectives are to increase the rate and recovery in the Goudron Field by increasing reservoir pressure from the current depleted levels and by establishing a sweep of the oil towards production wells, including GY-664, GY-665 and GY-666. The forecasted increase in production as a result of the Pilot "A" Programme, which will target the Gros Morne reservoir interval, is from the current 30 BOPD withdrawals to a peak of over 150 BOPD and will include injection of over 450 barrels of water per day in to up to three wells, GY-667, GY-668 and GY-209.

The Pilot "A" Programme, which the Company will commence immediately from available cash resources, will also provide incremental oil rate and recovery information that will be used to make a decision on expanding the waterflood within 18 months of start-up. Pilot programmes B, C and D are also currently being planned and will target two areas of the shallow Goudron Mayaro reservoir as well as potentially providing pressure support for the Gros Morne/Cruse reservoir GY-670 well, which initially peaked at over 1,150 BOPD in December 2014. Proposals for pilot programmes B, C & D are planned for submission in the coming months, taking into account early results and learnings from injectivity testing, pilot "A" implementation and the stimulation campaign.

The facilities to commence produced water injection into the first well, including pumps, filters, tanks and pipework are procured, have been tested during well injectivity trials and the entire pilot "A" system will be commissioned for continuous injection service in the coming weeks. With the first conversion to water injection workover planned to take place in September on well GY-668, total committed costs to date are under US$300,000 which have been met from existing cash resources.

The Waterflood Pilot will use existing produced water from the Goudron Field as the source of injection water. This has many advantages in that it allows the Company to move away from surface discharge of fluids as well as injecting reservoir compatible fluid into the pilot area. The use of produced water also allows an inexpensive solution to the new pilot facilities with simple, low-cost additions to existing facilities to be installed in the form of produced water storage, filtration and injection pumping systems much of which, as noted above, have already been procured and tested during injectivity trials. Injectivity testing to establish wellbore integrity and rate versus pressure parameters has already taken place. 

Leo Koot, Executive Chairman of Columbus Energy Resources commented:

"We are thrilled that the CEC has been issued by the Environmental Management Authority of Trinidad whom, as part of the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago we continue to enjoy a strong working relationship with. Following acceptance of the CEC we will begin the Water Injection Pilot "A" Programme immediately, funded from available cash resources.

I would like to thank everybody in the Columbus team for their work in achieving this milestone, which was completed significantly earlier than expected, and we have effectively brought forward commencement of the waterflood pilot programme by nearly a year. This was an important work stream for the Company as we continue to execute our new strategy for growth. As part of that growth strategy, we plan to submit further waterflood pilot proposals in the near future."

- ENDS -

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 596/2014

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