Emerald Energy Regulatory News (EEN)

13 Feb 2008 07:00

Emerald Energy PLC13 February 2008 Emerald Energy Plc13 February 2008 Khurbet East Field Update, Block 26, Syria Emerald Energy Plc ("Emerald" or the "Company") would like to provide thefollowing update on activities in Block 26, Syria. Khurbet East No.4 Well:Drilling of the Khurbet East No.4 well in the Khurbet East field has commenced.It is the first well to be drilled in the development phase of the fieldfollowing the recent approval of commercial development of the field. Khurbet East No.4 is expected to have a total drilling depth of approximately1,950 metres and take approximately 30 days to drill and evaluate. It is plannedas a production well close to the crest of the structure in the CretaceousMassive reservoir, located approximately 150 metres away from the Khurbet EastNo.1 well. The Khurbet East No.1 well, drilled to a total depth of 3,800 metres,may be used to further appraise the deeper Triassic Kurrachine Dolomite andButmah reservoirs and is therefore not currently included in the developmentplan for the shallower Massive reservoir. Development Area Approval:Following the granting of approval for the commercial development for theKhurbet East field, announced on 5th February 2008, the Syrian Ministry ofPetroleum and Mineral Resources has granted the application for a DevelopmentArea of approximately 100 square kilometres covering the Khurbet East field. TheDevelopment Area will be operated, under the terms of the Contract for theExploration and Development and Production for Block 26, by a joint operatingcompany to be set up with the Syrian Petroleum Company. 3D Seismic:The 240 km2 3D seismic acquisition programme to the south of the Khurbet Eastfield, has been completed and is being processed with interpretation to follow.This data was acquired over an area where several leads had been identified andwill be used to progress the exploration programme for Block 26. Emeralds' Chief Executive Officer, Angus MacAskill, said:"The spudding of this production well and the granting of the Development Areawithin only 2 weeks of receiving approval for the commercial development of thefield marks continued progress towards first production from the field, targetedto take place later this year. The Khurbet East No.4 well will build the initialproduction capability of the field from the Massive reservoir, adding to that ofthe Khurbet East No.2 and Khurbet East No.3 wells." Emerald holds a 50% interest in Block 26 through its fully owned subsidiary SNGOverseas Ltd. Enquiries: Lisa Hibberd 020 7925 2440 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange