Faroe Petroleum Plc Regulatory News (FPM)

9 Nov 2007 07:01

Faroe Petroleum PLC09 November 2007 9 November 2007 Faroe Petroleum plc ("Faroe Petroleum" or "the Company") Remedial Action for First Production Well at Minke Gas Field Gas production from the first well at Minke gas field commenced on the 27th June2007, after a successful drilling and development campaign by the Operator, Gazde France Britain (GDF). Due to an earlier than expected decline in production,preliminary tests have been carried out on the well by GDF to determine thecause. These tests indicate an event has occurred in the well which has led torestriction in the initially observed reservoir connection. GDF and the fieldpartners, E.ON Ruhrgas and RWE Dea UK, are currently actively working togetherto determine the cause and take appropriate remedial action. The event is notbelieved to have significantly affected the gas initially in place (GIIP) inMinke. The well continues to produce at a rate of around 20 mmscfd,approximately 50% lower than expected at this stage. Faroe Petroleum holds a 5.89% interest in the Minke field, which Faroe Petroleumacquired as a package from ConocoPhillips in 2006, and is the first developmentof previously undeveloped gas discoveries/fields in Quadrant 44 in the UKSouthern Gas Basin. The highly prospective Quadrant 44 benefits from Minke'ssub-sea infrastructure, which has been designed to accommodate two wells throughtie-in, and thereby optimise access to its export facility through the nearbyGDF-operated D15 platform. Graham Stewart, chief executive commented: "While this technical setback is disappointing, we remain confident in theOperator GDF and our partners, all of whom are highly experienced in gas fielddevelopments, to take appropriate remedial action as appropriate. We are alsopleased with the Operator's progress towards a development decision on thenearby Orca gas field (Faroe 5.89% UK Portion), which is expected during 2008." - Ends - For further information, call: Edward Westropp/Billy Clegg, Financial Dynamics 020 7831 3113Graham Stewart, Chief Executive Faroe Petroleum 01224 652 810 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange