Emerald Energy Regulatory News (EEN)

14 Feb 2007 07:01

Emerald Energy PLC14 February 2007 Emerald Energy Plc 14 February 2007 Tigris No.1 Well Result - Syria Emerald Energy Plc ("Emerald" or the "Company") would like to provide thefollowing update on the Tigris No.1 exploration well in Block 26, Syria. The Tigris No.1 exploration well has been drilled to a depth of 4,500 metres.Hydrocarbon shows were encountered while drilling, two cores were cut during thedrilling operation, and an extensive suite of wireline logs was run across thePalaeozoic section. Analysis of the wireline logs suggested that hydrocarbons may be present, butformation pressure sampling was unable to confirm the presence or mobility ofany such hydrocarbons. On the basis of the data acquired in the Tigris No.1 well, Emerald believes itis unlikely that commercial hydrocarbons can be produced from this well. Emeraldhas therefore elected not to participate in the running of a liner in the welland this operation is being conducted by the Operator as an exclusive operationunder the Joint Operating Agreement between the Block 26 partners. Emerald mayelect, at any time, to participate in the future operations on Tigris No.1 welland would be required to reimburse the operator its costs with an additionalback-in penalty. The MB3 drilling rig is expected to be released from the Tigris No.1 wellshortly and will proceed to drill two wells for the rig-share partner, with anexpected return date of mid July 2007. The MB3 rig will then drill the fourthexploration well in Block 26. The third exploration well in Block 26 will be drilled by the Crosco 602 rig onthe Khurbet East prospect. The well is expected to spud around mid-February2007. The Khurbet East prospect is a fault-bound structural culmination, withclosure mapped at multiple potential reservoir levels including Cretaceous,Triassic and Palaeozoic ages. The total drilling depth is expected to be 3,700meters and will require approximately 100 days to drill and evaluate. Emeralds' Chief Executive Officer, Angus MacAskill, said: "While it is disappointing not to have established commercial production in theTigris No.1 well, the information collected from the well has been invaluable infurther developing the understanding of the exploration potential in the areaand for focusing the future exploration efforts. We are very much lookingforward to the outcomes from the two remaining commitment wells to be drilled inthe Block in 2007." Emerald holds a 50% interest in Block 26 through its fully owned subsidiary SNGOverseas Ltd. Enquiries: Helen Manning 020 7925 2440 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange