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3 Jun 2009 07:00
03 June 2009
CIRCLE OIL PLC
("Circle" or the "Company")
Drilling Update
Discovery in Well CGD-10, Sebou Permit, Rharb Basin, Morocco
Circle Oil plc (AIM: COP), the international oil and gas exploration and development company, is pleased to announce that the CGD-10 exploration well has been drilled, logged and successfully tested in the Sebou Permit, Morocco.
The Company confirms a discovery in the Lower Guebbas Sequence with the well testing gas at a sustained rate of 3.9MMscfd from the primary target using a 24/64 inch choke. The perforated interval of 889.3 to 897 metres has a calculated net gas pay of 3.3 metres. The secondary target between 847.5 to 854.5 metres has a calculated net gas pay of 2 metres but testing of this interval will be carried out at a later date. The well is being completed as a potential producer.
A full technical evaluation of all the results of the well is underway. This will allow for forward planning as a precursor to further assessment of the resource, including conducting an extended well test to give a more complete estimation of the reserves.
The drilling rig will now move to commence drilling the last well of the planned six well drilling programme in the area.
The Sebou permit lies to the north-east of Rabat in the Rharb Basin in Morocco. The Rharb Basin is a foredeep basin located in the external zone of the Rif Folded belt. The concession agreement, in which Circle has a 75% share and ONHYM, the Moroccan State oil company, has a 25% share, includes the right of conversion to a production licence of 25 years, plus extensions in the event of commercial discoveries.
David Hough, CEO of Circle, said:
"We continue to enjoy drilling success in the Rharb and again we must thank our technical staff for their professionalism in achieving yet another discovery. Having drilled five of the six planned wells and had four discoveries and very good indications of gas in DRJ-6 well which is to be tested later, we are certainly achieving the results we had hoped for. As we move to our sixth and final well, we look forward to turning this success into revenue for the Company."
In accordance with the guidelines of the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange, Professor Chris Green, Chief Operating Officer of Circle Oil plc, an explorationist and geophysicist with over thirty years oil & gas industry experience, is a qualified person, as defined in the London Stock Exchange's Guidance Note for Mining and Oil and Gas companies, who has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this announcement.
Glossary:
MMscfd - Millions standard cubic feet per day
For further information contact:
Circle Oil plc (+44 20 7638 9571)
David Hough, CEO
Collins Stewart Europe Limited (+44 20 7523 8350)
Adrian Hadden / Adam Cowen
Fox-Davies Capital (+44 20 7936 5230)
Daniel Fox-Davies
Citigate Dewe Rogerson (+44 20 7638 9571)
Martin Jackson / George Cazenove
Notes to Editors:
Circle Oil plc
Circle Oil plc (AIM: COP) is an international oil & gas exploration and production Company with an expanding portfolio of assets in Morocco, Tunisia, Oman, Egypt and Namibia with a combination of low-risk near-term production and significant exploration upside potential. The Company listed on AIM in October 2004.
Internationally, the Company has continued to expand its portfolio over the past 2 years and now has assets in the Rharb Basin, Morocco; the Ras Mamour Permit in southern Tunisia; the Mahdia Permit offshore Tunisia; the Grombalia Permit in northern Tunisia; the Zeit Bay area of Egypt and the Owambo Basin, Namibia. Circle also has the largest licence holding of any Company in Oman. In addition to its highly prospective Block 52 offshore, the Company also has an ongoing exploration program in Block 49 onshore.
The Company's strategy is to locate and secure additional licenses in prospective hydrocarbon provinces and through targeted investment programmes, monetise the value in those assets for the benefit of shareholders. This could be achieved through farm-outs to selected partners who would then invest in and continue the development of the asset into production, or Circle may itself opt to use its own expertise to appraise reserves and bring assets into production, generating sustained cash flow for further investment.
Further information on Circle Oil is available on its website at www.circleoil.net
This information is provided by RNS, the company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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