Last checked at 4 Mar 2010 07:00
Independent Resources plc
("IRG" or "the Company")
Operations Update: Tunisia, Ksar Hadada Licence
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 block's operator, Petroceltic Ksar Hadada Limited ("Petroceltic") (27.03% Working Interest and 0.0% Paying Interest during 2010 work programme) and the Company successfully farmed out the Ksar Hadada block in Tunisia in Q2 2009 to a subsidiary of PetroAsian Energy Holdings Ltd ("PetroAsian"), a company listed in Hong Kong, resulting in the current joint venture. PetroAsian is committed to finance all of the Company's work commitments in the current programme including new seismic acquisition and the drilling of two wells. In Q3 2009, the joint venture established a dedicated team in Tunis to provide operational support for the planned programme.
The joint venture acquired over 100km of new 2D seismic in Q4 2009, with processing and interpretation completed in January 2010. Following interpretation of the seismic data, well locations for two Ordovician prospects were selected and approved by the partners in early February 2010. Contracts have now been placed for long lead items and a contract for drilling rig services has been entered into by Petroceltic with Compagnie Tunisienne de Forage ("CTF"), the drilling subsidiary of Entreprise Tunisienne d'Activités Pétrolières ("ETAP"), the National Oil Company of Tunisia, for the CTF Rig 06. Drilling is expected to commence in June 2010 and operations are expected to continue for an estimated 12 weeks.
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, 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 (P50) | High (P10) |
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| Sidi Toui | 24 | 88 | 409 | 40% |
| Oryx | 6 | 25 | 105 | 34% |
IRG Executive Chairman Grayson Nash said: "The anticipated start of the new drilling programme, at no cost to IRG, is excellent news. The technical team has refined the immediate drilling targets to capture the prominent Oryx structure and the NW compartment currently interpreted on the Sidi Toui structure. As we have informed shareholders previously, we continue to focus primarily on our operations in Italy - particularly the Rivara Underground Gas Storage Project - but at the same time we regard Ksar Hadada as a promising source of significant shareholder value".
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 and the Middle East. Recent light oil discoveries in the Cambro-Ordovician immediately to the south of the block in the adjacent Remada Sud permit have now validated the potential of the Ksar Hadada prospects. Across the border in Libya very 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.