15 Jan 2013 10:45
15th January 2013
EGDON RESOURCES PLC
("Egdon" or "the Company")
PEDL139/140 Shale-Gas Resource Assessment
Egdon Resources plc (AIM:EDR) is pleased to announce the results of an independent evaluation by RPS Energy ("RPS") of the potential shale-gas resources in the Company's onshore U.K. East Midland licences PEDL139 and PEDL140 (the "Licences") where the Company holds 13.5% interests.
RPS has reviewed the available data in the Licences and made an assessment of potential gas volumes and geological chance of success based on analogous shale-gas plays in the USA. The Licences are located in Lincolnshire and cover an area which is underlain by the Gainsborough Trough, a geological basin which contains a 125 metre thick sequence of the Carboniferous age Pendleian Shale at a depth of over 2000 metres. The Pendleian Shale is the approximate age equivalent of parts of the Bowland Shale which is the principal shale-gas reservoir target under evaluation in the Bowland Basin of North West England.
RPS estimates the mean net Egdon total gas in place ("GIIP") as 1.76 trillion cubic feet of gas ("tcf") within the Licences. A review of the surface and sub-surface access constraints in the area has resulted in an estimated mean net Egdon Accessible GIIP of 1.22 tcf. The net Egdon mean Prospective Resources1 are estimated as 0.19 tcf based on recovery rates in analogous US plays. RPS estimates the geological chance of success to be 24%.
Egdon intends to evaluate the potential of the Licences through drilling a deep exploration well, which it is hoped will be undertaken during 2014 subject to obtaining all necessary consents and approvals. Egdon's costs are carried through this work programme.
In addition to the Pendleian Shale, which is the subject of the RPS report, Egdon interprets potential for significant additional shale-gas resources in the underlying Carboniferous succession in the blocks that will be evaluated by any future drilling. Egdon is also evaluating the unconventional resource potential in certain of the Company's other East Midlands licences.
Commenting on the report and recent government announcements in relation to shale-gas exploration, Mark Abbott, Managing Director of Egdon, said;
"Whilst recognising that we are still at an early exploration stage in these Licences, and indeed for UK unconventional resources in general, we are encouraged by the results of the RPS evaluation which indicate that the geological conditions appear favourable for the development of a potentially material shale-gas resource based on the currently available data and comparison with US analogues.
We welcome the announcements in December 2012 by the UK Government in relation to Gas Strategy, the setting up of the Office of Unconventional Gas and Oil, and the approval for restarting of shale-gas exploration in the UK. There is now a clear regulatory framework for the exploration of the UK's unconventional oil and gas resources which have the potential to make a significant contribution to the UK's economy and energy mix over the coming decades.
An executive summary of the report by RPS will be available for download from Egdon's website."
Note1 Any development would have to take into account permitting, legal issues, environmental issues and availability of project finance, but RPS has not made a risk assessment of these factors. In addition RPS has made the assumption that adequate numbers of rigs and fraccing units will be available to drill and complete the large number of horizontal wells which would be required to fully develop the mean Prospective Resources estimated by RPS.
For further information please contact:
Egdon Resources plc
Mark Abbott 01256 702292
Buchanan
Richard Darby, Gabriella Clinkard 020 7466 5000
Nominated Adviser and Broker - Seymour Pierce
Jonathan Wright/ David Porter (Corporate Finance) 020 7107 8000
Richard Redmayne (Corporate Broking)
Notes to Editors:
Egdon Resources plc
Egdon Resources plc (LSE: EDR) is an established UK-based exploration and production company primarily focused on onshore exploration and production in the hydrocarbon-producing basins of the UK and France.
Egdon currently holds interests in twenty nine licences in the UK and France and has an active programme of exploration, appraisal and development within its balanced portfolio of oil and gas assets. Egdon is an approved operator in both the UK and France.
Egdon was formed in 1997 and listed on AIM in December 2004.
In accordance with the AIM Rules - Note for Mining and Oil and Gas Companies, the information contained in this announcement has been reviewed and signed off by the Managing Director of Egdon Resources plc Mark Abbott, a Geoscientist with over 26 years' experience.
In the report prepared by RPS, evaluation of potential recoverable hydrocarbons has been assessed in accordance with 2007 Petroleum Resources Management System prepared by the Oil and Gas Reserves Committee of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and reviewed and jointly sponsored by the World Petroleum Council (WPC), the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) and the Society of Petroleum Evaluation Engineers (SPEE).