Last checked at 3 Aug 2010 07:00
3 August 2010
Independent Resources plc
("IRG" or "the Company")
Oryx-1 Well Drilling Report
Independent Resources plc (IRG:L) announces that the Oryx-1 exploration well, on the Ksar Hadada Permit in Tunisia, has reached its total depth at 1140m. Although oil shows were encountered in both the upper and lower Ordovician reservoir units, log analysis indicates that no significant oil saturation is present in these reservoirs at this location. The Oryx-1 well has been drilled substantially under budget and without a time losing incident.
The well will now be plugged and abandoned, without testing, and the CTF Rig 06 will be moved to commence drilling of Sidi Toui-4, the second well in the current programme. Sidi Toui-4 has been designed as a deviated wellbore which will specifically target resources in the upper Ordovician reservoir unit, the Bir Ben Tartar Formation, of the Sidi Toui structure. Independent expert assessment by Blackwatch Petroleum Services Ltd. indicates a Pmean contingent resource in the Sidi Toui Structure of 161 MMbbls oil, with a 40 per cent. chance of success to a well.
Both the Oryx-1 and Sidi Toui-4 wells form part of the work programme that was agreed when PetroAsian Energy Holdings Limited farmed into the permit. PetroAsian is committed to finance all of the joint venture's work commitments in the current programme, including the drilling of these two wells, up to US$14.5 million.
Grayson Nash, Executive Chairman commented, "Oryx-1 was a higher-risk exploration well that disappointed. Fortunately, the data we acquired will be used elsewhere on the block, not least on the next well, which targets a significantly larger reservoir. We are pleased to now focus on the drilling of the Sidi Toui-4 appraisal well, which will spud shortly."
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.
| 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 |
| Simon Hudson |
| 020 7920 3150 |
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| Jonathan Wright | Seymour Pierce Limited | 020 7107 8000 |
| Stewart Dickson |
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Background details follow:
These operations follow the renewal of the permit for three years from 20 April 2008 and the previously-announced 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. IRG has a 18.97% Working Interest, the block's Operator, Petroceltic Ksar Hadada Limited, has a 28.07% Working Interest, and PetroAsian Energy Holdings Ltd has a 52.96% Working Interest.
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 onshore Ribolla shale gas basin near 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.