Emerald Energy Regulatory News (EEN)

15 Jan 2009 07:00



Emerald Energy Plc

15 January 2009

Operations Update

Emerald Energy Plc ("Emerald" or the "Company") would like to provide the following update on operations in Block 26, Syria.

Khurbet East No.7 Well

Drilling operations have been completed at the Khurbet East No.7 well in the Khurbet East field. The well was designed to delineate the north of the field, establish the oil-water contact and to have the potential to be used later as a water disposal well.

The well was drilled to a total depth of 2,060 metres and encountered the top of the Cretaceous Massive reservoir at approximately 1,978 metres. Good hydrocarbon shows were encountered across a 7 metre interval while drilling into the reservoir and gradually diminished over the next 13 metres. 

The reservoir porosities encountered in the Khurbet East No.7 well were measured mainly in the range of 5% to 10%, significantly lower than the exceptional reservoir quality encountered in the central portion of the field where porosities are in the range of 16 to 20%. Variations in reservoir properties such as these are not unusual in carbonate reservoir systems and this new information, combined with the production history to date, will be important in developing a more refined reservoir model. 

Preliminary analysis of the wireline logs is unable to directly establish an oil-water contact due to the generally higher resistivities measured in lower porosity reservoirs. Although the oil-water contact was not directly determined by the wireline logs, preliminary analysis of these logs and the drilling data together indicates that the oil-water contact in the field may be slightly deeper than previously interpreted.

The Khurbet East No.7 well was not production tested and was suspended for further evaluation in the future, which may include production testing, or for later use as a water disposal well. 

3D Seismic Survey

The acquisition of a 640 square kilometre 3D seismic survey has commenced. This survey is designed to provide contiguous data coverage over a large area surrounding the recent Khurbet East and Yousefieh oil discoveries, complementing the 3D seismic surveys acquired in this area in 2007. This survey will assist in progressing the new exploration play that has been confirmed by the Yousefieh discovery. The 3D seismic programme is expected to be completed in approximately 5 months, with final processed data available during the third quarter of this year.

Emerald's Chief Executive Officer, Angus MacAskill, said:

"The information gained from the Khurbet East No.7 well will, when combined with the excellent production performance to date, assist in better understanding this field and contribute to the ongoing reserves re-evaluation due to be completed in the first quarter of 2009. Acquisition of the 3D seismic survey is an important step in building on the success of the Yousefieh discovery in the new exploration play on Block 26."

Enquiries: Lisa Hibberd 020 7925 2440