Last checked at 10 May 2010 07:00
Independent Resources plc
("IRG" or "the Company")
Operations Update: Tunisia, Ksar Hadada Licence
May 10th 2010 Independent Resources plc is pleased to announce the following operational update for its Ksar Hadada oil and gas exploration permit covering 5,600 square km onshore Tunisia, where IRG holds an 18.97% interest (0.0% Paying Interest during the 2010 work programme).
The Company has previously announced that the joint venture acquired over 100km of new 2D seismic in Q4 2009, with processing and interpretation completed in January 2010. Well locations for two Ordovician prospects were selected and approved by the partners in early February 2010. Drilling is expected to commence in June 2010 and operations are expected to continue for an estimated 12 weeks.
The block's Operator, Petroceltic Ksar Hadada Limited(27.03% Working Interest and 0.0% Paying Interest during the 2010 work programme) has been notified by Compagnie Tunisienne de Forage ("CTF"), the drilling company contracted to execute these operations, that the planned CTF Rig 06 will be available to begin mobilizing towards the end of May. The joint venture still expects operations to begin in June.
Independent Resources Chairman Grayson Nash commented: "We were hoping to spud the first well - targeting Oryx - earlier in the month, but it now looks like this year's drilling operations at Ksar Hadada will commence in late June. We look forward to appraising the attractive potential on this block over this summer."
Independent assessments of gross prospective contingent resources and chances of success for the 2010 drilling targets on Ksar Hadada have been carried out by Blackwatch Petroleum Services Ltd on behalf of PetroAsian Energy Holdings Ltd (51% Working Interest and 100% Paying Interest during the 2010 work programme), and are reported as follows;
Ksar Hadada Licence Gross Prospective Recoverable Resource Estimates (MMbbls), pre 2010 Drilling Programme
| Prospect | Oil | Chance of success | ||
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| Low (P90) | Medium (Pmean) | High (P10) |
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| Sidi Toui | 24 | 161 | 409 | 40% |
| Oryx | 6 | 47 | 105 | 34% |
This announcement has been reviewed by Roberto Bencini, Technical Director of Independent Resources, for the purposes of the current Guidance Note for Mining, Oil and Gas Companies issued by the London Stock Exchange in June 2009. Mr. Bencini is a chartered petroleum geologist. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the Geological Society of London and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists.
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For further information contact: |
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| Grayson Nash | Independent Resources plc | +39 06 4549 0720 |
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| Allan Piper | Tavistock Communications | 07736 064 982 |
| Duncan McCormick |
| 020 7920 3150 |
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| Jonathan Wright | Seymour Pierce Limited | 020 7107 8000 |
| David Banks |
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| Richard Redmayne |
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Background details follow:
These operations follow the renewal of the permit for three years from 20th April 2008 and the transaction involving PetroAsian. This transaction, which resulted in the current joint venture, removed IRG's commitments for the duration of this phase of the permit and allowed at least two wells to be drilled and tested and significant new seismic data to be acquired.
Simultaneously with Petroceltic's farm-out of an interest in Ksar Hadada, IRG's wholly-owned subsidiary Independent Resources (Ksar Hadada) Limited also farmed-out a 21.03% interest in the permit to PetroAsian. In return, PetroAsian will pay all costs of drilling and testing the two new exploration wells and the acquisition and processing of the new 2D seismic data.
The primary targets on the Ksar Hadada block are Cambro-Ordovician quartzites and the Silurian Acacus Sandstone. Several large oil-prone prospects have been mapped; these are sourced by the Silurian Tanezzuft Shale, which is the main source rock for North Africa. A recent light oil discovery in the Cambro-Ordovician immediately to the south of the block in the adjacent Remada Sud permit has now validated the potential of the Ksar Hadada prospects. Across the border in Libya high oil production rates have been achieved on test from multiple Acacus wells, providing added attraction to the Acacus play on Ksar Hadada. In addition, significant shale oil prospectivity remains to be mapped and tested.
IRG was admitted to AIM in December 2005 and alongside its exploration interests in Tunisia is pursuing an integrated gas business in Italy which includes the Fiume Bruna and Casoni coalbed methane prospects on the north-west coast, and the strategically-positioned Rivara gas storage facility in the Po Valley. The company is focusing on developing both conventional oil and unconventional gas production, and building a profitable portfolio through wholly-owned initiatives and partnerships.